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Tempers Flare Between Taylor Gray And Sammy Smith At Martinsville Speedway

by Hunter Thomas March 29, 2025 0 comments

RIDGEWAY, Va. – Tempers between Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray boiled over in NASCAR Overtime during Saturday’s US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

On the NASCAR Overtime restart, Smith restarted in first place, with Gray behind him in third. As the field entered into Turn 1, Gray moved Smith out of the way to regain the lead. On the final lap, Gray had a commanding lead until Smith barreled into Turn 3 and took him out. Smith also crashed, as well as did much of the field. Austin Hill snuck by to win his second race of the season, but as for Smith and Gray, the tempers bled over into the infield.

“I feel like we had the best car all day,” Gray said as he walked to the Infield Care Center. “I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough. We brought a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra. Just unfortunate – it’s the same story I’ve lived here for the past two Martinsville race in a row. It sucks, but it is what it is. Long year.”

The two drivers confronted each other just outside of the Infield Care Center. Security kept them separated, but they pointed and yelled at each other. Following the confrontation, Smith had a lot to say, noting that Gray flipped him off under the red flag, and that was the event that set him off.

“I mean absolutely it was egregious,” Smith said when asked if the move was egregious. “I mean, yea, I’m not proud of that, but if roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing. He’s got no respect for me. I didn’t move him in those first prior restarts, and you know, he was flipping me off under the red flag. Swerving at me. I mean, it’s definitely uncalled for, and I’m not proud of it, but he would’ve done the exact same thing. That’s what I told him. You know, we’ll see what happens after that.”

Smith then went on to talk about how that’s essentially short track racing these days.

“It’s unfortunate,” Smith said. “If you’re not the one doing it, someone is going to do it to you. Everyone is going to dog on me, and I’m not proud of that, but at the end of the day, it’s just what you’ve got to do. We’ll move on to Darlington.”

When asked if the rivalry was over, Smith didn’t mince words when saying that he’d continue to race aggressively with Gray in the future.

“I would say we have a little bit of a past,” Smith said. “I know he has no respect for me, and then with flipping me off under the red flag – that right there, that was the line for me. Maybe he’ll find some more respect. I’m sure we’ll go at it a couple more times, but I’m not afraid to.”

Smith continued and said, “From his end, I’m sure not, and I’m not going to let him have the last bite, so we’ll see.”

The two drivers were in the catbird seat to earn either a win or a solid top-five finish, but following the checkered flag, Smith finished 10^th, and Gray was scored 29^th.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will now head to Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 on Saturday, April 5. The race will broadcast live on the CW at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Logan Riely/Getty Images