NASCAR officials penalized driver Sammy Smith on Tuesday for his on-track actions at the end of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Smith initiated contact on the final lap of Saturday’s Marine Corps 250 with race leader Taylor Gray, speeding his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet into the back bumper of Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The bump sent Gray’s car spinning through Turns 3 and 4 and created a stack-up that snared others in the fray, allowing Austin Hill to slip past for his second win of the season.
As a result, NASCAR competition officials docked him 50 points in Xfinity Series drivers’ standings. Smith was also fined $25,000.
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“We want to see really hard racing and door-to-door racing, and contact is certainly a part of the sport and part of the sport at Martinsville Speedway,” said Eric Peterson, Xfinity Series Managing Director. “We felt like after looking at all the facts, all the video, the team audio, SMT data and all the tools, we kind of have to work with and review an incident like that. Unfortunately, what Sammy did was over the line and something that we feel like we had to react to. We would prefer to leave it in the driver’s hands but in this case, it wasn’t really a racing move and we reacted to it as such.”
Smith and Gray had a testy post-race exchange outside of Martinsville’s infield care center, and NASCAR and team officials kept the confrontation from turning physical. Smith indicated that ramming his rival’s car was his intent, saying that Gray had raised tensions with a series of gestures and swerving. Smith finished 10th; Gray, who led 87 of 256 laps, was scored 29th.
Gray and fellow driver Jeb Burton — who was also entangled by the final-lap crash — were each fined $5,000 for behavioral penalties, with officials noting violations of Infield Care Center conduct.
“Taylor and Jeb were in the care center post-race and there was some behavior that we felt stepped over the line as far as interrupting a medical situation,” said Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications. “The care center is almost an on-site hospital, so the drivers and any competitor that enters that area, there should be a sense of decorum there.”
Smith’s move was reminiscent of a similar incident in the NASCAR Cup Series last season, when Austin Dillon knocked the cars of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin aside on the final lap at Richmond Raceway. Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team were docked 25 points, and officials ruled that Dillon’s win would not count toward playoff eligibility.
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NASCAR officials also suspended two pit-crew members after the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driven by Shane van Gisbergen lost a wheel during Sunday’s Cup Series event. Van Gisbergen spun out in the 274th of 400 laps in the Cook Out 400 after his right-rear tire became dislodged after leaving the pits.
As a result of the safety violation, competition officials suspended No. 88 crew members Jonpatrik Kealey (rear-tire changer) and Aslan Pugh (jack) for two races each, starting with this weekend’s event at Darlington.
Competition also issued fines to two other teams — one in the Xfinity Series and another in the Craftsman Truck Series — for each having one lug nut unsecured after a post-race check. In Xfinity, the No. 00 Haas Factory Team group for driver Sheldon Creed was fined $5,000; Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Truck Series team for driver Rajah Caruth was fined $2,500.
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