As the 2024 NASCAR season begins to unfold, no team seems to be as prepared as Joe Gibbs Racing, with their Xfinity Series lineup also putting in solid performances so far. But just when it looked like Chandler Smith and John Hunter Nemechek were going to bring home solid top-fives for Coach Gibbs, it all went wrong when the pair collided during a restart with 57 laps to go.

While C. Smith recovered to visit victory lane, the man who had been leading the race on the restart had lost it all in the blink of an eye. Still, the rising Cup Series star pulled all his punches against his teammate, with a rather mild reaction to the race-ending wreck.

John Hunter Nemechek sidelines Xfinity Series misery to focus on Cup glory

After a race filled with turmoil had already seen Hailie Deegan come into close contact with the SAFER barriers, the caution that followed caused a wreck no one saw coming, especially the race leader on the restart, John Hunter Nemechek. As Nemechek gunned it on the restart, he found himself falling victim to the faster cars of Justin Allgaier and Riley Herbst. Little did he know, however, that his teammate was also sneaking up in the middle.

As Chandler Smith and Riley Herbst approached John Hunter Nemechek, the trio entered a three-wide drag race that almost sandwiched Smith, who in turn tried making room for himself but found the left rear of his teammate instead. The contact, while minor, was enough to send Nemechek spinning and facing oncoming traffic. While 13 cars were collected, it was Nemechek who came off the worst, as the left front of his 20 Toyota No. Supra was completely destroyed.

While it looked like Smith had tapped Nemechek’s left rear on the broadcast, the JGR driver wasn’t certain about how things had unfolded. He shared with Bob Pockrass, “I don’t know, there was a little bit of contact, and next thing I knew I was sideways, so part of it,” When asked if he felt he had been wrecked, John Hunter Nemechek added, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen a really good replay, so I can’t give you my thoughts on it right now.”

The 26-year-old highlighted the intense restarts at Phoenix as one of the reasons behind their run-in, as he felt it was impossible to avoid such moments. John Hunter Nemechek added, “Just Phoenix restarts. Restarts are crazy here. Getting three wide, four wide, two wide, doesn’t really matter. Restarts are just nuts here with the dogleg and sometimes you’re in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”

The JGR Cup Series driver felt the team would go over what went down on Monday, but as for now, his focus was on the rave tomorrow. He concluded, “I mean I am sure we will have conversations on Monday about just the whole situation and whatnot but now that I’m out. The only goal is to go in, so. Now all the focus is for tomorrow, we have a really good #42 Toyota Camry XSE so gotta figure out how to drive from 19th to the front.”

READ MORE: Justin Allgaier is Frustrated with JRM’s Fate After a Heartbreaking End to Phoenix

While Smith’s teammate wasn’t so vocal about their maneuvers that resulted in the wreck, Sam Mayer explained his public display of frustration with the racing at Phoenix during the post-race interviews.

JR Motorsport’s rising talent takes the high road

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While John Hunter Nemechek had missed out on a big result at Phoenix owing to the wreck caused by Smith’s contact, he wasn’t the only one. Sam Mayer, the JR Motorsports star who considered his 2024 campaign a “year from hell” just had the cards dealt to him even worse after a vital top-ten finish was eradicated by the Smith-Nemechek clash.

As his wrecked #1 Chevrolet Camaro came to a halt on the grass, Sam Mayer gestured to the crowd, spinning an imaginary wheel erratically to show how the racing had been. While John Hunter Nemechek wasn’t too frustrated after the race, could you really blame the JR Motorsports driver for letting off some steam after getting caught up in a wreck and ending the race with a DNF for the third time this season?

Still, Sam Mayer clarified how it was all in good fun, showcasing his fighting spirit despite the misfortune he’s being dealt. He shared with Bob Pockrass, “It’s just part of the gig man, you know, like I’m not gonna be pissed about it because there’s no reason for being mad when you didn’t do anything wrong. So I mean I was just, “Oh, the fans! What do you think? Are we racing good?” That’s pretty much all it was, just fun and games.”

While it’s safe to say that the incident supposedly triggered by Chandler Smith resulted in many drivers going back home from Phoenix with nothing more than frustration, the drivers also seem to be taking a calmer route as times change. With that said, are the days of good old NASCAR brawls truly gone?