NASCAR has had enough of race car drivers intentionally wrecking their opponents on the race track. After Austin Dillon’s DQ from the playoffs and Austin Hill’s penalty at Charlotte, NASCAR has now dropped the hammer on Conner Jones after he wrecked Matt Mills in the Truck Series race at Homestead Miami Speedway.

Jones ran into the back of the #42 Niece Motorsports truck, which saw Mills sustain hard hits after wrecking with the safer barriers. The hard impact even resulted in the #42 truck catching fire before it came to a halt. Initially, it looked like Mills came out relatively unharmed from the crash, but he was soon transported to a local hospital.

Despite being the instigator, Conner Jones pinned the blame on Mills for the crash. He was heard throwing expletive rants on the team radio about how he was tired of Mills’ racing style the entire year. Mills was discharged from the hospital on Monday, and he posted a video on social media thanking for all the support he received during these tough times.

Jones was listed on the entry list for the Martinsville race, but after this ruling, he will have to sit out. After the race, the driver declined to comment on the incident, but he released a statement apologizing for his actions that could have caused serious harm to Mills during the race. But his apology came a little too late, as NASCAR has now decided to intervene and handle such matters with seriousness.

Although the driver was suspended, fans on social media demanded a more severe punishment for Conner Jones.

Did Jones deserve a harsher penalty from NASCAR?

Driver etiquette is a serious problem in the lower series of NASCAR racing. While a one-race suspension is right, this was seen as a reaction to the backlash by fans rather than the sanctioning body stamping its authority over the drivers. “I have no problem with him being suspended, but again, Nascar is being inconsistent. Feels like they are being reactionary to the fact he got hospitalized when a similar crash last year, only got the lap penalty.”

Bubba Wallace wrecked Kyle Larson in 2022, Chase Elliott dumped Denny Hamlin last year, and Austin Hill sent Cole Custer into the wall this year. Not only in the lower series but at the Cup and Xfinity levels, such incidents have been rampant. This is why this race fan feels like one race ban for such an egregious crash isn’t enough. “1 Race For Hospitalizing Someone? Should Be For The Rest Of The Season 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️”

NASCAR certainly needs to draw a line or bring out a strict ruling in how such incidents will be dealt with in the future. According to this race fan, Conner Jones should be suspended for more than a week. However, their intervention does open up options on how they could police such situations better. “Should have been more than a week . but it will due.”

Perhaps the definition of hard racing has gotten somewhat blurred in recent times. There’s nothing wrong with bump and run and trading paints. However, wrecking someone for a position or trying to get even is indeed concerning. Hopefully, such rulings would deter other drivers from doing the same. “NASCAR should have stepped in long ago but better late than never. Hope it will carry over to any certain other drivers that like to wreck others.”

As mentioned above, NASCAR has had to deal with similar issues across all three series this season. Going by their track record, they seem to have treated all these incidents with suspensions and penalties. And this is exactly what the fans want—to have consistent rulings on such race-related incidents. “I really hope they’ll be consistent with that decision across all three series.”

What are your thoughts on this one race ban to Conner Jones? Moreover, what would be your suggestion for NASCAR to curb such incidents among the drivers during the race?