These are the Xfinity Drivers Looking the Worst After Martinsville
What’s Happening? Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Several drivers were involved in incidents throughout…
NASCAR has handed out major fines and penalties for three NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers after a chaotic race Saturday at Martinsville. As expected, JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith is on this list for his last lap incident.
After wrecking Taylor Gray during the last turn of the final lap of last week’s race, NASCAR announced after the race that they were considering penalizing Sammy Smith for the self-sabotaging error. NASCAR has acted accordingly, fining Smith $25,000 and penalizing him 50 driver points.
This penalty is massive, as the maximum number of points a driver can earn from a race is 61. However, to do that, a driver would have to win both stages: the fastest lap and the race. JRM has already announced they will not appeal this penalty. Smith will drop from sixth in points with 184 to 16th with 134.
Smith was not the only driver left out of the penalty report. Jeb Burton and Taylor Gray were fined $5,000 each for violating the Infield Care Center conduct policy. Both drivers entered the Care Center area after the race to confront other drivers. Burton even stated to tobychristie.com that if Daniel Dye continued to race aggressively, he would “Put him over the grandstands next time.”
Two drivers are noticeably absent from this list of fines and penalties. First is Sam Mayer, who found himself involved in his aggressive driver incidents. Second is Austin Hill, who also aggressed multiple drivers throughout the day. Fans felt that both drivers should have seen some form of retaliation from NASCAR. However, neither driver was penalized.
Other incidents on this week’s penalty report include a safety violation for Rajah Caruth’s No. 71 truck, which had improperly installed lug nuts. Two Cup Series Crew members, Aslan Pugh and Jonpatrik Kealey of Trackhouse Racing’s No. 88 team, were suspended for the next two NASCAR Cup Series races after Shane van Gisbergen lost a wheel during Sunday’s race.
What’s Happening? Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Several drivers were involved in incidents throughout…
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