The NASCAR Xfinity Series Martinsville race ended controversially. Sammy Smith threw the kitchen sink at Taylor Gray and used him up good on the final lap shootout. But, unlike Austin Dillon at Richmond, Smith couldn’t cross the finish line and take home the win. Thanks to the chaos and stack-up, Austin Hill from Richard Childress Racing grabbed the checkered flag. But the talk after the race wasn’t about Hill’s win but how Xfinity drivers raced each other.
A total of 14 caution flags led to constant stoppages, which resulted in a loss of 104 laps that could’ve run green. “God, I wish I were in the booth. Id get fired but I damn sure would call these idiots out.” This was Denny Hamlin’s response to the Xfinity Series race, meanwhile, Dale Jr. also chimed in, stating, “This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better.”
Clearly, there was an outrage among the veteran drivers and community concerning the state of short-track racing at Martinsville. While the questions were being raised on Smith’s final lap shenanigans, it wasn’t the only move that rubbed other drivers wrong. In fact, Jeb Burton found himself on the receiving end of the stick, and let’s just say he wasn’t going to let the disrespect slide.
“I was frustrated with the #10 car. Earlier, with 20 or 30 to go, he just dove in off in here, three-wide on the restart, cleaned out somebody. He’s just racing over his head, and then the last lap he just sailed it off in there into one and knocked me up the hill for no reason. Down here, he did the same thing. He’s just driving over his head with no respect, so I just came down here to tell him I didn’t appreciate it. If he wants to race like that, I’ll put him over the grandstands the next time we’re here. He’s just disappointing because he runs like sh-t every week, and they’re spending $6 million, and he just can’t get it done. He’s 20th” Jeb Burton said this about rookie driver Daniel Dye after the race.
Dye, like many up and coming drivers has a tough time in keeping his race cars clean. For some reason, the only way to advance up the field is to deploy the dump and run strategy. He bagged a 7th-place finish, but this came at the expense of Burton, who was closing in on his second top 10 finish of the year. Well, he did make himself clear in the interview: next time if Dye tries such tricks again, he will receive a payback.
Jeb Burton was frustrated with Daniel Dye’s actions on Saturday, and says he went to the care center to tell him about it. Jeb says Dye is, “Racing over his head with no respect,” and if he wants to race that way, Jeb will, “Put him over the grandstands next time.” pic.twitter.com/A25J3df3T2
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) March 30, 2025
Such was his rage that Burton went as far as to promise retribution. Though to be honest, Jeb Burton might regret saying those words, as NASCAR usually frowns on retaliation. Especially if the retaliation is deliberate and pre-mediated. Other NASCAR drivers have been punished for it in the past; just ask Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar and Chase Elliott. It’s funny how NASCAR treats similar incidents differently, but clearly Burton felt that there’s a lack of respect within the Xfinity garage.
“It’s just everybody running over- I don’t drive like that, you know? There’s a couple of guys that don’t drive like that and then everybody else is just running over everybody for no damn reason, and it’s just uncalled for. I don’t know. It’s frustrating, and I race people with respect. And tonight, all the way up through the field, you could see that people weren’t racing with respect at all.” He added.
It’s not just Xfinity veteran drivers who are fed up with this new norm of deliberate wrecking, even the FOX broadcast crew were irrate with what they witnessed during the race. Clint Bowyer went a step further and even called out NASCAR to prevent the natural post-race conduct.
Clint Bowyer wants NASCAR to allow the drivers to settle unfinished business after the race
Flying punches and helmets are nothing new to NASCAR. But over the years, there has been a trend where NASCAR officials allow the first blow and then everyone just piles up on each other. The quick and easy way to resolve on-track disputes is through post-race altercation, which we saw last year during the All-Star race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. punched Kyle Busch in the face following his early elimination.
Now, Taylor Gray did confront Sammy Smith and was looking to score the settle for good. But, once again he was surrounded by multiple NASCAR jackets who were trying to diffuse the situation. And this act, in particular, rubbed Bowyer wrong. “If respect is gonna fix it, they need to Get Those Security Guards Out of The Way.”
Well, he wasn’t the only one fuming with Xfinity drivers; veteran announcer Mike Joy also joined his co-host in sharing his honest views. “I said the Xfinity Series was a dumpster fire, it’s not. A dumpster fire is contained, and that series is not right now.”
While people are raising fingers on NASCAR to deal with the situation better, Mark Martin had an equally good reply to this argument. “It hurts the sport to have to be the police of on track ethics and hurts it if they don’t. I’m critical of @NASCAR for some things, but this is a no win for them.” NASCAR hasn’t announced any penalties for Smith or other drivers involved in the incident. But, given that they are under pressure to act, we might see a points penalty along with the fine.
Remember, suspension is a tricky territory for NASCAR as they have deployed the new playoff waiver policy. So they will have to tread carefully in delivering the verdict following a controversial end to the Xfinity Series race at Martinsville.
The post “I’ll Put Him Over… Grandstands Next Time”: NASCAR Royalty Hits Out at Rookie Driver as Martinsville Mayhem Ends Miserably appeared first on EssentiallySports.
