Racing hard is a part and parcel of NASCAR, however, but it needs to have limits. If the line is crossed, it could prove to be detrimental for the driver himself, or worse, some other driver on the racetrack. This is what happened at the recent Homestead Miami Truck Series race as Conner Jones and Matt Mills fought for the 17th position. Entering turn 3, Jones drove into the back of Mills and this had the #42 truck crash into the wall, setting it a blaze.

Although Mills did not suffer any burns, he had to stay at the hospital for two days due to smoke inhalation. Post the race, based on Jones’s radio conversation, NASCAR discovered the contact was deliberate since Mills had blocked him in some past Truck races. This led to an uproar from the NASCAR community. However, now fully recovered, Mills was part of the recent Martinsville race and has acquitted Jones.

Matt Mills shows maturity against Conner Jones

Precedence has shown that NASCAR isn’t kind to deliberate wrecking. As a result, Jones faced a two-lap race penalty in Homestead and a race suspension missing the recent Martinsville race. What further enraged the NASCAR community was that Jones did not even take responsibility for his actions. Post the incident, he avoided journalists and fled the scene without much of a comment. It was long after the race that Jones issued an apology via his social media account.

The apology read, “I have not yet had the chance to personally apologize to Matt for the incident that took place during today’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but I intend to do so. Matt and I have encountered several on-track incidents this season, and I let my frustration get the best of me. I underestimated the impact my actions would have on Matt, and I deeply regret the consequences that followed.” However, the NASCAR community discovered that Jones reached out to Mills through calls and texts. However, due to being in the hospital, Mills was unable to respond.

Usually, an incident like this would have enraged a driver. However, Matt Mills has been pretty calm about it. After the Martinsville race, he spoke about how he’s not vengeful and just wants Jones to realize that this is not the way to race. Mills said, “Yeah. I mean, I’m not a vengeful person and I don’t think it should be really looked at as a punishment or a penalty. I think Connor has talent, this more should be looked at as a lesson that we can’t have that in our sport and especially at a track like that with high speeds. I don’t wanna say like he got what he (deserved), I don’t think that way. I’m just that nice, kind of  quiet kid kept to himself. Like I’m not a vengeful person.”

According to Matt Mills, the Truck Series which is NASCAR’s developmental series is the key to the problem. It’s where youngsters prove themself to eventually to the top division in the sport. Hence everyone should be on their best behaviour. ” I just want this to be a lesson, an eye opener for him and kids coming up through this sport. We can’t do that. We are professional race car drivers. Each time we get on a race track we are auditioning. That’s how I treat it. Whether it’s the race team that we wanna stay on or move to the Xfinity or the Cup Series, where people are watching us. It needs to be a lesson I think,” Mills added.

This is a lesson that the 18-year-old desperately needs. This is not the first time he’s come to the limelight showcasing unwarranted aggression. Like at the spring Bristol race when he wrecked Mason Maggio after Maggio blocked him, putting Jones several positions down. In the same race, he also wrecked Keith McGee at the end of stage 2. Jones’s driving was so rash that NASCAR had him called up to have a chat in their Hauler. He also had a scuffle with Daniel Dye in the Charlotte Motor Speedway race this year.

The youngster has shown promise in his ARCA season, finishing 15th in 2023. Also in the CARS Tour, he was dominant, winning the most recent North Wilkesboro. The Virginia native has the talent, but his anger issues might hold him back in the long run. Even Some NASCAR insiders opined on this.

NASCAR insiders on Conner Jones’s incident

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Recently the spotter of the #23 car in the Cup, Freddie Kraft was left disappointed. Kraft has been following his recent runs, although impressive, such conduct on race tracks remains unacceptable. Kraft said, “He’s a race-winning race car driver. He wins CARS Tour races, that takes a lot of talent. He is not mentally prepared to be racing in the Truck Series right now. You can hear that in his meltdown on the radio that he went off for two laps.”

Even The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi was furious, Bianchi was also present on the track when the incident occurred, as he, along with other journalists, was waiting for a comment from the youngster. Jones refused to own up to the mistake. On the Teardown podcast, Bianchi recently said, “You’re 18 or 88 the situation demands that you be held accountable. When you intentionally wreck somebody at Homestead at the speeds you’re going and that driver, his truck ends up on fire, now that’s inexcusable. I am all for hard racing, I’m all for moving a guy on the last lap. I am not for intentionally wrecking somebody because you’re angry and putting him in the wall. Especially on a track like this.”

According to Bianchi, what Conner Jones did in the Truck Series race is inexcusable. “And this is a pattern. This isn’t like a one-time thing where you can say, young kid, warn him. No, you go back, you talk to people, you see the races in the CARS Tour or anything else. He has a pattern of decision making and these kinds of things are not uncommon and it needs to stop,” Bianchi added.

What did you think of the incident? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.