Kevin Harvick has called out NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sammy Smith for the way he tried to gain an advantage in Martinsville last weekend by crashing into Taylor Gray. Calling it a “hack move,” Harvick acknowledged that while rough racing is good for the sport, the actions performed by Smith were ridiculous.
In a bid to gain position, Smith rear-ended race leader Taylor Gray during the last lap of the race. Unfortunately, the impact not only put them out of contention for the top positions but also caused a pile-up of cars.
Smith was penalized with 50 points and a fine of $25,000 for crashing into Gray. Harvick said on his Happy Hour podcast that the actions of Smith not only showed disrespect to his competitor but also to his own team, which had to fix the car. He said:
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“Sammy Smith pretty much said, ‘I don’t care what he thinks. I don’t care what they think, I’m doing what I think I had to do, I have no respect for guy.’ Well, what about the guys that have to go back and fix your car?
“I know that I’ve had my ass reamed by my team. They hated me when I would do dumb stuff like that. … Want to see them bang doors. I want to see them push each other out of the way. But I don’t want to see them drive in from five cars deep to just wipe the guy out.”
Harvick continued, stating that drivers who just press on the gas and crash into their opponents haven’t been taught professional racing. He said:
“I just don’t think they’ve been taught. What we do is professional racing and nobody wants to watch — I mean, anybody can hold the gas down and just drive through the guy in front of them. Like, that’s just not how you do it. If you can drive in there and maybe push him up the racetrack a little bit and knock him out of the groove, I want to see that. I want to see rough racing. I like to watch race cars race rough. But I don’t want to watch them race like a bunch of hacks. That’s a hack move.”
Unfortunately, the clash in Martinsville didn’t end on track. Gray, who was furious at Smith for snatching away a potential victory, confronted him outside the care center, where the two drivers nearly came to blows before security controlled the situation. Gray was fined $5,000 for the confrontation outside the care center.