NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway was unique. Despite crossing the star-finish line first, Jesse Love’s win was stripped from him. Besides the fateful post-race inspection that muddled up Love’s victory, one thing was discernible. The number of apologies issued was numerous. After hitting Connor Zilisch’s car, Jeb Burton duly apologized to the young star. Then Justin Bonsignore’s car spun out in front of Sheldon Creed, who was annoyed. But Bonsignore also acknowledged his mistake.
This is exactly how Rockingham differed from Martinsville, despite the stark similarity in the level of chaos. Both races displayed 14 caution flags involving a whole lot of carnage. However, the intentions differed, especially after Dale Earnhardt Jr’s star, Sammy Smith, brought NASCAR’s strict warning.
NASCAR drivers flipped the script
“If they had to step in and start making calls, black flagging people, parking people, and doing all those things, that they’ll do it.” A few weeks ago, Austin Hill summarized NASCAR’s warning issued to Xfinity drivers at the meeting before the Darlington race. These stern words were much-needed, given the carnage that unfolded in Martinsville. With tempers flaring randomly, drivers found it okay to ram into their neighbors just to get ahead. The race was topped by Sammy Smith’s last-lap antics, wherein he dumped Taylor Gray and set off a multi-car melee. Then Austin Hill pushed aside Justin Allgaier to charge for the victory. Clearly, respect and discipline were all over the place. However, the same Xfinity Series field flipped the script at Rockingham Speedway.
The 0.97-mile D-shaped oval has tight corners and narrow racing surfaces that naturally lead to cautions. Despite the massive carnage that Rockingham faced, NASCAR expert Eric Estepp observed the difference with Martinsville. “I railed against the etiquette in this Series, I railed against the lack of racecraft that many drivers showed. There were 14 cautions at Rockingham yesterday. 83 of the 250+ laps were run under caution. A lot of yellow flags, a lot of spins, a lot of crashes, a couple of big late-race pile-ups…Just because Rockingham turned into an attrition race, bit of a wreckfest towards the end – it wasn’t for the same reasons that Martinsville in my opinion, was an embarrassment.”
MARTINSVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 30: Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet lead the field to the green flag during the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Playoff Xfinity 500 on October 30, 2022 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
Sammy Smith clinched his season’s first win after NASCAR invalidated Jesse Love’s victory. Eric Estepp pointed out how Dale Jr’s star was the reason behind the Martinsville chaos. Ultimately, he was also why NASCAR sternly stepped in and drivers paid heed. Estepp continued, “Martinsville was embarrassing because all of those wrecks were completely avoidable. Drivers sailing it in three car-lengths too deep intentionally. Trying to shove their competitors two or four lanes out of the groove. Sammy Smith at the end of the race, throwing caution to the wind, racing recklessly…and just blatantly wrecking Taylor Gray to try and get the trophy. Like, that was ugly. But Rockingham – most of the spins, most of the accidents were different. Some of those huge pile-ups were a result of fuel mileage racing.”
Clearly, this seems like a step forward for the Xfinity Series. However, according to a veteran driver, NASCAR’s warning may not be enough for a particular track.
The penchant for chaos is always high
Being a half-mile short track on a NASCAR schedule is something special. Well, special for the wrong reasons at times. Martinsville Speedway‘s tight confines and close-quarters racing can frequently lead to heated conflicts. For instance, Brad Keselowski flipped the bird at Kurt Busch back in 2014, delivering a message about his aggressive driving. Then Denny Hamlin had a heated exchange with Chase Elliott after the two spun each other in 2017. These incidents happened in the Cup Series, which is way more toned down than the Xfinity Series. So they demonstrate just how things can go out of hand at Martinsville. Of the final 202 laps of this year’s Xfinity race, an incredible 51 percent were run under the yellow flag. The 104 total caution laps were the most in Xfinity in over 18 years.
The record-breaking carnage that Martinsville displayed was jaw-dropping. That is why Austin Hill concluded that NASCAR’s warning may not be enough to change things for the Fall Martinsville race. He said recently, “It might be one of those cases where we need to have multiple meetings throughout the year just to reiterate some of the stuff. Even if things aren’t happening on the racetrack, even if it’s just a — say we’re all racing clean and we’re all doing the right things, but I think we got to keep it in everyone’s head that, you know, race the way you want to be raced and race with respect, and I thought that that’s kind of where we ended the conversation.”
Austin Hill may have been skeptical about his peers changing their ways. However, Rockingham displayed great self-control on the drivers’ part. We can only wait to see what the next Martinsville outing will be like.
The post Drivers Pay Heed to NASCAR’s Warning After Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Driver Embarrassed Them appeared first on EssentiallySports.