When Smith crashed into Gray’s back on the last turn and well into overtime, the Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway ended in complete mayhem. The benefactor was Austin Hill, who managed to go from seventh to first in a single turn by avoiding the on-track chaos that ensued after the incident. After the race, NASCAR officials had to keep Smith and Gray apart, but Smith has now disclosed the precise reason behind his extreme decision.
What caused Taylor Gray to be destroyed by Sammy Smith?
“I mean, it’s unfortunate,” Smith told reporters following the race. I’m not really proud of what I did, you know. He simply doesn’t respect me, and he was swerving toward my door while flipping me off under the red flag. He still led those two restarts after I pushed him into one. Thinking, “What would he do in this situation?” I immediately went on the back, and he would have done the exact same thing. “So he’s ignoring me, and that’s exactly where I had to draw the line to finally decide what to do.” After the race, the Martinsville finish received a lot of criticism, including from Sunday’s cup series Winner Denny Hamlin.
