Taylor Gray, Sammy Smith have heated confrontation outside care center after overtime wreck at Martinsville

Following what was perhaps the worst overtime finish we will see all season, Taylor Gray and Sammy Smith had words for each other. The two drivers have a bad history between them and it was not made any better this NASCAR weekend.

Sammy Smith moved Taylor Gray for the lead. It almost worked. But another caution came out. So, Gray moved Smith on the next restart. But that wasn’t enough for Smith as he came from way back in Turn 3 to give a “bump” and run. More like a slam and scram.

The only problem is, Smith wrecked, too. So, they both lost out on the win and a good finish. Gray confronted Smith outside of the infield care center at Martinsville.

Watching these videos from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Taylor Gray wanted to do more than talk. He was trying to get to Sammy Smith.

Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray had a confrontation outside the infield care center. pic.twitter.com/ScNfc6UKoB

— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) March 30, 2025

Martinsville is supposed to be quintessential NASCAR. This is the track that shows the marriage of the history of the sport and the present day. So far this weekend, we have not been given the best example of that history and prestige.

Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both had harsh comments about the racing. Specifically about the Xfinity Series race and the wreckfest that it divulged into. Is it time for NASCAR to step in and set things straight? Have a meeting with drivers about how they are acting on track?

Sammy Smith isn’t apologizing for Taylor Gray wreck

If you expected Sammy Smith to apologize for his actions, don’t hold your breath. The young driver is not going to be issuing any apologies at this time and feels like he was justified in his actions at the end of the race. He said as much after leaving the care center.

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

Even though he knows people will criticize him, Sammy Smith isn’t backing down. He is going to take this in full stride it seems.

“I mean, it’s unfortunate, you know, he’s – if you’re not the one doing it, someone’s going to do it to you,” he continued. “Everyone’s gonna dog on me and I’m not proud of that but at the end of the day, it’s what you got to do. So, we’ll move on to Darlington.”