Sammy Smith was in second place going into the last turn of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway, behind Gray. Smith, however, was not satisfied and made the deliberate decision to crash into his opponent’s back, eliminating both drivers from the race and resulting in chaos as vehicles tried to cross the start-finish line. After the race, Gray was obviously upset and went to confront Smith. Video has surfaced showing the two of them being restrained by multiple security guards outside the Infield Medical Center. Gray has now been hit with a $5,000 fine by NASCAR, which said that the driver had violated infield care center conduct.
Taylor Gray was fined by NASCAR for the Martinsville infraction. Even though the two nearly got into a fight outside the medical facility, it seems that the fine might be connected to an altercation that took place within the facility but was not caught on camera. But that’s what NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, Mike Forde, said when he explained the decision. Another driver involved in the collision, Jeb Burton, was also punished for his actions. Forde clarified on the Hauler Talk podcast that “there was some behavior that (NASCAR officials) felt stepped over the line as far as interrupting a medical situation when Taylor and Jeb were in the care center after the race.” Since the care facility functions as a sort of on-site hospital, the drivers and any competitor that enters that area, there should be a sense of decorum there.”
It’s unclear if the aforementioned incident happened before or after the contentious altercation outside the care facility. Sammy Smith received 50 driving points and a $25,000 fine for his involvement in the collision on Saturday.
