Bozi Tatarevic, a pit crew member and NASCAR race mechanic, recently shared why he was disappointed with the Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway last week. The US Marine Corps 250 on Saturday saw a number of collisions and one of the most cautious laps in the series’ history, but the last lap was especially wild. During the last turn, Sammy Smith, the No. 8 Chevy driver for JR Motorsports, collided with leader Taylor Gray, causing both of their vehicles to spin out. Austin Hill won the race by taking advantage of the confusion. In the most recent installment of the Actions Detrimental podcast featuring Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, NASCAR insider Tatarevic revealed his passion for the Xfinity Series.
“For the simple reason that the cars are so awesome, the Xfinity Series is one of my favorite racing series to watch. Bozi Tatarevic remarked, “The racing is amazing. I have a bucket list of things, and an Xfinity car is still something I want to work on if I get the chance because it looks so cool and so fun.” In addition, Tatarevic discussed the exciting Martinsville finish and the reason he left the short track rather than staying to address teams as he typically does.
Therefore, on Saturdays, I usually stay after a race to chat with engineers and technicians and try to understand what they achieved and why certain things are intriguing. But I just went because I was like all the nice cars, all the things, all the individuals that executed, they were wrecked in the last lap. Yes, and that’s the very disappointing thing about it. It’s really disheartening to witness such a cool platform being abused and to witness individuals being removed without cause,” Tatarevic continued. Tatarevic went on to highlight the high cost of the vehicles and made the case that teams could save money and pay technicians and engineers more if drivers were more cautious rather than putting up with ongoing damage.
This past weekend’s Xfinity race saw almost 100 laps slowed down by wrecks and 14 yellow flags.
Denny Hamlin on NASCAR Xfinity’s race in Martinsville: “I wish I were in the booth”
A number of NASCAR celebrities expressed their annoyance at the careless driving at the Martinsville Xfinity race. Denny Hamlin, a co-owner of 23XI Racing and driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, also made the following comment on X: I wish I could have been in the booth, God. Even if I might lose my job, I would definitely call these fools out,” Hamlin wrote.
During his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin went into further detail about his dissatisfaction with Xfinity Series drivers, saying: “As a car owner, I can speak to what I am – I’m not impressed.” Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, and Sam Mayer were all bad drivers. In the meantime, Hamlin recorded his first victory of the season by winning the Cup Series race on Sunday at the Martinsville Speedway. This weekend, NASCAR will go to Darlington Raceway for the Xfinity and Cup races scheduled for April 5 and 6.
