“By no means Gonna Occur”

“You’ve created a catastrophe right here with these younger guys,” joked Clint Bowyer. The FOX Sports activities commentator was addressing Dale Earnhardt Jr. when speaking about Sammy Smith’s last-lap incident at Martinsville Speedway. The 20-year-old changed into the largest NASCAR sensation for all he improper causes, with loads of criticism from followers and notable figures inside the NASCAR neighborhood, who’ve blamed him for taking away Taylor Grey’s possibilities of profitable the US Marine Corps 250.

Nonetheless, his employer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has stood agency by Smith’s facet. Whereas the Iowa native admitted he was “not proud” of his actions, Junior has trashed claims relating to a possible punishment, despite the fact that he hopes his racer makes higher choices going ahead.

Talking of Smith, the motive force was not utterly apologetic. “I do know that everybody goes to mad and upset at me and say I’m a grimy driver, however I don’t care as a result of everyone does it. If I used to be simply going to simply accept it and end second immediately, then that simply wasn’t going to set effectively with me.” And Smith actually wished that win, contemplating the historical past of the monitor.

Martinsville Speedway holds a particular place within the hearts of NASCAR followers. In spite of everything, the ‘Paperclip’ has been a part of the inventory automotive racing collection since 1949, and is well one of the venerable tracks on the calendar. Given its stature, the last-lap incidents had been nothing wanting embarrassing, with many racers having little interest in driving cleanly. Proper in the course of all of it was Sammy Smith, who spun Taylor Grey in Flip 3, a transfer that resulted in a 50-point deduction in addition to a $25,000 penalty.

Nonetheless, within the eyes of many followers, the punishment was only a slap on the wrist. Many urged NASCAR and Junior to droop him for a race, a risk that was shortly refuted by the JR Motorsports co-owner. Talking on the Dale Jr. podcast, the veteran racer stated, “There are lots of people on the market which might be like, ‘Oh man, NASCAR’s gotta park him. Dale Jr. ought to park him.’ You realize, anybody who thinks I’m gonna park Sammy, that’s out of the query. By no means gonna occur.”

On the age of 20, Sammy Smith nonetheless has lots to study if the incident at Martinsville is something to go by. Despite the fact that Dale Earnhardt Jr. acknowledges that the frustration with the Iowa native is at an all-time excessive, he needs to protect his younger racer from the net hate. Junior stated, “Sammy’s my driver. Ya’ll can proceed to be p-ssed and assume what you need. I bought to shift to what do I do to offer Sammy the most effective recommendation. I bought to determine how Sammy can clear this up.”

The explanation behind Junior’s feedback? There was a web based uproar that wished groups to behave in opposition to their drivers for such strikes. Essentially the most distinguished title speaking about this was one other staff proprietor, Brad Keselowski. “I’ve been actually quiet on this over the previous few days however it’s clear that is vital to repair and in addition clear that it’s larger than 1 race weekend. My 2 cents- The answer wants to come back from the automotive house owners not NASCAR. Till the automotive house owners are prepared to park their drivers for getting this uncontrolled, little or no will change. I get that they’re all scared to park a funded driver out of concern they are going to lose the cash to proceed to operations. Nonetheless, sooner or later, that’s the chance you need to take to get this proper. I consider if all the groups do it collectively, it might work,” he posted on X.

Dale Jr. definitely doesn’t agree, however there are extra vital questions ready if Junior doesn’t need to punish his driver. Whereas Smith’s actions may be attributed to inexperience this time round, will Dale Earnhardt Jr. be capable to defend him if such an incident happens once more? Unlikely. Nonetheless, Junior has by no means stopped supporting his drivers. He backed Allgaier for years, and it paid off in 2024 when he gained the Xfinity title.

Christopher Bell, who tuned into the US Marine Corps 250, couldn’t assist however say, “Infuriating. My blood was boiling” whereas Xfinity Sequence veteran Jeremy Clements stated, “Actually disenchanted within the lack of respect on the monitor tonight.” Whereas it’s refreshing to see Junior defend his younger racer, it’s time for Sammy Smith to repay that religion by not simply reaching higher outcomes, however with higher conduct each on and off the racetrack.

Is race craft changing into a misplaced artwork?

Sammy Smith’s transfer within the final lap was simply the tip of the iceberg. The Xfinity Series race at Martinsville was an unsightly and embarrassing show of drivers bulldozing their method by means of. Initially scheduled for 250 laps, the US Marine Corps 250 went on for six extra laps due to a late incident. Out of the 14 cautions, 12 got here due to spins and wrecks, and after a 54-lap run firstly, the longest the race went between cautions was simply 20 laps. Not a reasonably sight, proper?

It says lots concerning the high quality of racing {that a} 250-lap occasion took almost two and a half hours to finish, prompting Denny Hamlin to say, “Absolute rubbish” on X. Over time, it has turn out to be obvious that youthful drivers should not afraid of creating contact with their rivals, possibly due to NASCAR not policing their actions effectively sufficient. Not solely are wrecks costly for groups, however additionally they replicate badly on the way forward for the game. Nonetheless, win-at-all-costs is proving to be the dominant mindset amongst youthful racers.

Final yr, Austin Dillon was stripped of his playoff eligibility after wrecking Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano on his method to victory at Richmond Raceway. That penalty was meant to be a press release to NASCAR drivers to race cleanly, however it’s clear that the message didn’t hit residence. Will the 50-point deduction and $25,000 high-quality do the trick? Time will inform. If it doesn’t, NASCAR may have to start suspending drivers to protect the integrity of the game.