Elton Sawyer sends warning to Cup Series drivers after Truck, Xfinity races at Martinsville

The NASCAR weekend at Martinsville has not been the best example of racing ever. Elton Sawyer is stepping in a bit today. Before today’s Cook Out 400, Sawyer gave a message to the Cup Series field.

Last night, drivers in the race, drivers watching the race, former drivers, fans, and media members all cried out – What the hell was that?! A sloppy Truck Series race could have almost been excused. But what happened on Saturday? Clearly, no one is thinking straight.

At the drivers’ meeting today, the senior Vice President of Competition for NASCAR had a message for the Martinsville field. “Respect.”

“Based off the Truck race and last night, my key word for today is ‘respect,'” Sawyer said, according to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic.

While that seems innocuous, it is likely far from it. This is NASCAR explaining in a nice way that they will not take kindly to any more foolishness this weekend, especially from the top series in the sport.

There is talk that NASCAR is weighing penalties for Sammy Smith for his actions last night at Martinsville. It was very similar to Austin Dillon’s move at Richmond last season on Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. Reckless.

It didn’t help that Sammy Smith didn’t have remorse after the race. It was just doubling down and throwing a bit of a fit. Taylor Gray moved him, AFTER he moved Taylor. He did it a lot cleaner than Smith did the first time, and it was definitely cleaner than the last time.

NASCAR racing at Martinsville should be sacred

A message of some kind has to be sent to the lower series after this NASCAR weekend at Martinsville. You have to talk to the Truck Series more than anyone else because of the fact they race on short tracks for a lot of the schedule. It is the bread and butter of the series, frankly.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. chimed in last night. Sammy Smith is his driver. So, hopefully, he can straighten this out from an ownership standpoint. But he said it best.

“This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better,” Earnhardt posted on X/Twitter. You can almost feel the pain in those words.

So, what happens from here? Well, the NASCAR Cup Series is about to race at Martinsville. Let’s see if the trend continues or if the top drivers in the sport can set a healthy example for the rest.