“This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better.” Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s words about Martinsville Speedway struck a chord. The racetrack has been part of the NASCAR schedule since 1949 and has seen some epic, clean racing. But the events that unfolded on Saturday were a slap on the face to short-track racing. However, Dale Jr.’s words hid his disappointment with his JR Motorsports driver. That Cup Series aspirant’s reckless actions over the Xfinity Series race last weekend whipped up a storm, as most people bashed him. Yet another veteran, Mark Martin, took a balanced approach.
Featuring 14 caution flags across 104 laps, the Xfinity race in Martinsville was an absolute wreck-fest. Leading this wild frenzy was Dale Jr.’s star, Sammy Smith, who set off a chaotic multi-car wreck on the last lap. But he also had the guts to own up to his actions post-race – and this was acknowledged by Mark Martin.
Mark Martin wanted to see the job done
“I’m not proud of it, but he would have done the exact same thing,” Sammy Smith said post-race. In Martinsville, Dale Jr.’s No. 8 Chevrolet driver exchanged fiery barbs with his old ARCA Menards rival, Taylor Gray. On lap 249, Gray lined up behind Smith and used his bumper to wrest the lead from him; aggressive, but clean racing. According to Smith, Gray also flipped the bird at him, and the turmoil of emotions that this set off in Smith was too intense, and he responded wildly. Gray was leading the race until Turn 3 of the final lap when his nemesis appeared in his rear-view mirror. Coming from several car lengths back, Smith charged into the corner and spun Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, knocking it into the outside wall, wrecking himself too.
But while most people fired shots at Sammy Smith, 6-time NASCAR National Series winner Mark Martin took a balanced approach. He acknowledged Smith’s honest take post-race in a ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ episode: “I want to be a Sammy fan, I really do. I really appreciate his honesty afterward. It takes b—- to say what he said, and I respect that. I don’t know all the history, and I don’t know more than what I saw on television.”
What Smith did resembled Austin Dillon’s Richmond fiasco, according to Martin. Dillon delivered right-rear hooks to Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to win the race in 2024. So Martin expected Smith to at least get the job done: “But it was a horrible look. It looked like he just got mad and just went berserk down in the corner. It was a lot like the Austin Dillon deal, except Sammy didn’t win. I mean, if you’re going to do that, you at least need to win.”
Not only did Smith not get the win, but he finished 10th, ruining what would have been a second-place finish and a shot at the Dash 4 Cash next week. Smith’s mindless maneuver also ended up wrecking Dale Jr.’s #7 driver and last week’s race winner Justin Allgaier who was vocal about his disgust toward the racing after the race, saying, “This is not acceptable… Using the bumper is one thing, but [they were] just blatantly wrecking people.”
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However, Mark Martin did add that Sammy Smith’s actions infuriated him. “This is how it goes – if you are a Gray fan, which I was – I was pulling for him to win. So I didn’t like him getting moved. Then when he softly, barely moved Sammy, this is all I saw, like a very unfair like ‘I’m gonna get you back for moving me.’” This approach was espoused by several veterans of the sport. They included Denny Hamlin, Parker Kligerman, Jeff Burton, Christopher Bell, and of course, Dale Jr. himself.
Denny Hamlin called it “Absolute garbage” on X, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Christopher Bell, said, “My blood was boiling inside the motorhome just watching it. It was a disgrace for our sport.” These reactions underscore the difference between Cup Series drivers and Xfinity drivers. The 2nd tier series is filled with young stars who use the series as a stepping stone to gain experience. However, the latest race shows that they still have a long way to go in terms of respecting their competitors. As Christopher Bell pointed out, “The Cup drivers respect each other more.”
Mark Martin’s words may sting Sammy Smith, who did intend to win, but it was fueled with vengeance, which ultimately led to a fruitless ending. Meanwhile, Richard Childress’ Xfinity star snuck away and took the victory in an unprecedented fashion.
Reaping the benefits from a chaotic race
Well, Sammy Smith was not the only chaotic driver in Martinsville. Other drivers like Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil also engaged in aggressive encounters. Drivers chose to bulldoze their way through each other with no regard for their competitors. Of the final 202 laps of the race, a jaw-dropping 51 percent were run under the yellow flag. But some dodged this wild beating-and-banging to emerge in the front row – Austin Hill led this troupe, landing the grandfather clock and $100,000 courtesy of the Dash 4 Cash. Martinsville robbed Hill of a Championship 4 spot two years ago – and yet now it gave him a grand gift. After Sammy Smith spun out Taylor Gray and caused the melee, Hill hit Justin Allgaier and sneaked through the bottom.
Austin Hill won the race with a 0.190-second lead, giving Richard Childress Racing its 100th win. Hill expressed disbelief at his shock victory: “On that restart, it just got wild. We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) 3, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could. Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right now. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on — and to top it off, we won a hundred grand.”
Hill might have hated to drive at Martinsville, but at least he got to leave with a big check, a clock, and a gleaming smile on his face. This wasn’t the case for fellow RCR driver Jesse Love, who also bashed the track for its recent races. “That’s why I don’t enjoy coming here all the time… It’s fun to short-track race, it’s not fun kind of the culture right now.” Love was also robbed of a championship 4 spot in 2024 at Martinsville and called it a “Mickey Mouse race” back then. It seems like those feelings have not changed, and neither has the racing.
While Mark Martin wanted either Taylor Gray or Sammy Smith to win, Austin Hill grabbed the spoils as most of the grid looked at their wrecked cars in disappointment. This wild race will surely leave a mark on the upcoming events of the season. For now, the community eagerly awaits NASCAR’s verdict on the actions that occurred on Saturday.
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