The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville met with an unexpected ending after Sammy Smith crashed into race leader Taylor Gray in the last lap, causing him to spin out. Smith too did not manage an ideal race finish, leading Austin Hill to secure a surprise race win. However, the action didn’t end there. Gray and Smith nearly came to blows after the race before security intervened and separated them.
Smith and Gray’s last-lap collision caused a chain reaction, leading many cars to crash into each other. The spectacle has been heavily criticized by NASCAR veterans and insiders, who think the incident set a bad example for the sport.
The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi shared behind-the-scenes footage of Gray approaching Smith outside the infield care center before they almost got hold of each other. While their relationship is not known to be particularly friendly in the past, this altercation might have brought it to a new low.
Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray had a confrontation outside the infield care center. pic.twitter.com/ScNfc6UKoB
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) March 30, 2025
After the race, Smith said that Gray would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. He told CW Sports:
“I mean, absolutely, it was egregious. I mean, yeah, I’m not proud of that, but I mean, if roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing. He’s got no respect for me. I didn’t move him those first prior restarts and you know, he was flipping me off under the red flag, swerving at me, you know, it’s definitely uncalled for and I’m not proud of it, but he would have done the exact same thing, and that’s what I told him. You know, we’ll see what happens after that.”
He continued:
“I mean, it’s unfortunate, you know, he’s – if you’re not the one doing it, someone’s going to do it to you. Everyone’s gonna dog on me and I’m not proud of that but at the end of the day, it’s what you got to do. So, we’ll move on to Darlington.”
Now though, the biggest question is whether the heated rivalry between the two drivers will cool off before Darlington.
Martinsville Speedway- NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Results
- Austin Hill
- Sheldon Creed
- Justin Allgaier
- Brennan Poole
- Sam Mayer
- Dean Thompson
- Daniel Dye
- Ryan Sieg
- Kris Wright
- Sammy Smith
- Jeb Burton
- Parker Retzlaff
- Aric Almirola
- Jeremy Clements
- Garrett Smithley
- Patrick Staropoli
- Josh Williams
- Ryan Ellis
- Blaine Perkins
- Carson Kvapil
- Corey Day
- Brandon Jones
- Brad Perez
- Harrison Burton
- Mason Maggio
- Matt DiBenedetto
- William Sawalich
- Connor Zilisch
- Taylor Gray
- Carson Ware
- Thomas Annunziata
- Nick Sanchez
- Myatt Snider
- Christian Eckes
- Kyle Sieg
- Greg Van Alst
- Jesse Love
- Anthony Alfredo
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