After Denny Hamlin’s Twitter Attacks, Martin Truex Jr Launches 10-Word Jibe at SMI’s ‘Status Quo’

fessed NASCAR has seen its fair share of brawls this year. But Denny Hamlin is yet to engage in a feisty face-off with a rival driver. Nevertheless, he made up for this gap by locking horns with a track owner instead. Early in April, Hamlin engaged in an online slugfest with Marcus Smith, CEO and president of NASCAR’s second-largest track operator, Speedway Motorsports Inc. The bone of contention was simple: some of Smith’s tracks were visibly peeling away.

Over the past two decades, SMI has undergone several repaves. Despite Smith’s towering ambitions to make a good impact, most drivers were scared of the repaving. This debate has continued till now, and Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr, hopped aboard.

Martin Truex Jr takes a nasty dig at SMI

When Smith became the head of Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008, tickets barely sold and the profits tanked. Hence, he wanted to improve the tracks. Marcus Smith took over presidential duties at SMI in 2015 after his father, Bruton Smith, stepped down. While the latter built much of SMI’s holdings in terms of steel, concrete, and asphalt, Marcus wanted to take it a notch higher. 

Thus emerged the infamous repaving stories, from where the scuffle with Denny Hamlin originated. Recently, Hamlin’s ominous prediction about North Wilkesboro Speedway was proven right. Now ahead of the Charlotte race, Martin Truex Jr also chose to roast the SMI president’s tactics. Besides crumbling tracks, he hilariously added a gadget malfunction as well. 

Recently, while talking to the media, Martin Truex Jr said the track benefits are “negative.” Then he added a 10-word jibe at SMI. “As soon as you show up, your phone stops working.” He further continued, saying, “That’s pretty much the status quo at all the SMI tracks.”

Martin Truex Jr’s apprehensions date back to 2018 when the Charlotte Roval came to life. SMI invented a hybrid track with the existing speedway along with a winding course through the infield. The 17-turn, 2.28-mile course has a 35-foot change in elevation. All drivers echoed their doubts in unison, while Truex simply revealed a fearful attitude.

Martin Truex Jr said in 2018, “I’m terrified. I feel really bad for the guys that are going to go in there and have to do something. I think everybody is scared to death of that place.” Six years later, the JGR driver harbors similar sentiments. He confessed the same to the press, saying, “I hate the Roval.” 

SMI’s track repaving under Marcus Smith included tracks like Kentucky, Texas, and Atlanta. While most of them dropped the quality of racing and fan experience, earlier repaves were more concerning.

Previous SMI work also raised eyebrows

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While Marcus Smith is currently getting the rap from the NASCAR community, his father had a hard time too. Bruton Smith also oversaw some famously tragic track repaving that scored no better among drivers and fans. SMI repaved Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2005 with a process called “Levigation” to smooth out the bumps. The result was disastrous.

Numerous tire failures happened during the race which consisted of 37 caution flags. While fans enjoyed the show, things needed changes. Then Bruton Smith again got creative in 2007 and added progressive banking at Bristol Motor Speedway. This stole the past thrill of Bristol, and the repave single-handedly axed attendance at the track throughout the 2010s. After being a massive flop, Bristol saw a resurgence again later.

Hence, the JGR veterans pointing fingers at Marcus Smith comes as no surprise as SMI’s reputation hasn’t been the best when it comes to experimentation with their tracks.