As the checkered flag waved on Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin wasn’t celebrating. The three-time Daytona 500 Champion fired off his frustrations online as chaos unfolded at the paperclip. “Absolute garbage,” Hamlin fumed in a post on X. He didn’t stop there. “God, I wish I were in the booth. I’d get fired, but I damn sure would call these idiots out,” he added in another post.

Hamlin’s rage wasn’t unwarranted. The Martinsville race was a wreck-fest, with 102 caution laps—one of the highest in Xfinity Series history. However, the real controversy came in the final moments when Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray fought for the lead. Smith, driving the No. 8 JRM Chevy, made an aggressive last-lap move, slamming into Gray and taking them both out of contention.

Instead of battling for the win, they spun out, clearing the way for Austin Hill to steal it. It was a brutal end to what should have been a thrilling finish. The drama didn’t stop there. Gray, furious over Smith’s move, confronted him after the race. The two had exchanged aggressive driving throughout the event, but this was the boiling point. The heated confrontation outside the infield care center only fueled the controversy.

The move reminded many of Austin Dillon’s infamous 2024 Richmond crash, where he wrecked his way to victory and later paid the price with a hefty penalty. But unlike Dillon, Smith didn’t even win—he finished 10th. And worse? He didn’t show a hint of regret. “I’m not proud of that, but he would’ve done the same thing,” he said. That statement and the wreck set off a storm among NASCAR veterans and fans alike.

On Sunday, insider Bob Pockrass reported that NASCAR is going to evaluate the last-lap drama. “NASCAR officials will evaluate the last lap move by Sammy Smith (any penalty decision likely Tuesday). My guess is evaluating it compared to Dillon at Richmond. He didn’t win (Smith was 10th, but Gray was 29th). AD (who had contact w/2 cars) was docked 25pts & playoff eligibility for the win,” he posted on X. While he pointed out some possible outcomes of the evaluation, NASCAR fans weren’t settling for anything below a heavy penalty.

The reaction was swift as one fan summed up the frustration, saying, “This is worse than what Dillon did. At least Dillon has the excuse that at that point in the season, anything other than a win was useless. Smith still had 20 races where he likely could win or point his way in. Dillon’s was desperation; this was a tantrum.” The comparison to Dillon’s Richmond penalty in 2024 is clear.

Dillon, in a must-win situation, crashed into Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to take the victory. However, NASCAR ruled his win ineligible for the playoffs and stripped 25 points from him and his team. Officials emphasized that wrecking your way to victory wasn’t racing—it was chaos. Yet, Smith, with a full season ahead of him, took out Gray with no intention of finishing the race.

Notably, fans weren’t the only ones who called out Sammy Smith. His team owner and NASCAR veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr. slammed his driver. Just after the race, he took to the social media platform X to express his frustration. “This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better,” he wrote. Despite this, Smith remained unfazed as he justified his antics. This triggered fans as they believe if NASCAR doesn’t take a stand, and perhaps this wreck-fest style of racing will become a new norm at tracks like Martinsville.

Fans fail to contain their frustration over Smith’s Martinsville race antics!

Sammy Smith’s Martinsville race mess has ignited widespread anger among NASCAR’s most passionate fans. Many believe the sport is moving in the wrong direction, and they aren’t holding back. One fan pointed out how NASCAR’s inconsistency damages its integrity. “My local short track has more immediate punishments than the highest stock car sanctioning body in the world, and my local short track is run by a c—-addicted towing company owner,” he wrote.

The frustration is clear; grassroots racing has stricter rules than NASCAR itself. If short tracks can enforce immediate penalties, why can’t a billion-dollar organization do the same? Meanwhile, another major criticism is NASCAR’s delayed response time. While other racing leagues make immediate rulings, NASCAR takes days to decide penalties. This was evident in Austin Cindric’s case as well this year when he dumped Ty Dillon at COTA. So, the frustration for the fans stems from the acts of the governing body in dragging these white and black calls.

“This is part of the problem, though… You can’t make this decision days after the race. It has to happen immediately so drivers know the consequences right away. That’s the only way to get rid of this garbage,” a user posted. This must be one of the biggest issues with NASCAR. When racing leagues like Formula 1 and MotoGP decide within hours why does NASCAR take days? This is beyond understanding, and maybe we will get an answer in an upcoming episode of Hauler Talks.

One of the reasons why NASCAR doesn’t want to police the situation is the new playoff waiver rule. Now, if a driver does get suspended for a race, they will have to forfeit all the playoff points they’ve earned in the regular season. So, you see NASCAR is walking on thin ice on whether to make a call or not over the incident. But, given that the sanctioning body set a precedent with Cindric’s penalty, the drivers feel incentivized to blur the fine line between hard racing and intentional wrecking.

Meanwhile, a fan argued that NASCAR focuses too much on the result instead of the action itself. “Penalize the action, not the outcome,” he posted. This hits at the core of the issue. Because Smith finished 10th instead of winning, some believe NASCAR might let it slide. But that logic is flawed. If a move is dangerous, it shouldn’t matter whether it leads to a victory or not. The penalty should be based on intent and execution, not just who ends up in victory lane. With demands rising for a penalty, we might get a midweek decision over it.