NASCAR revealed the penalty report following this past weekend’s triple-header events involving the Craftsman Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series divisions at Martinsville Speedway between March 28-30.
In the Xfinity Series division, Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro entry, received a fine and was issued a points deduction. The penalty resulted from Smith igniting a final-lap accident amid an overtime shootout in Saturday’s Xfinity event at the Paperclip-shaped venue in Ridgeway, Virginia.
During the final lap of the overtime shootout, Smith, who was reeling in race leader Taylor Gray, gassed up his entry, and ran into Gray’s rear bumper. The contact caused Gray to slip up the track and spin towards the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4. As Smith tried to proceed with the lead, he then made contact with teammate Justin Allgaier. This allowed Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill to sneak by both entering the frontstretch. Hill proceeded to win both the event and the second Dash 4 Cash bonus of $100,000 of the 2025 campaign. Smith, however, wrecked along with several competitors and crossed the finish line in 10th place.
Gray confronted Smith in the aftermath of the carnage and the drivers exchanged harsh words. They ere subsequently separated by NASCAR officials. While Gray minced his words over the incident, Smith did not. Smith had planned his move due to an earlier on-track altercation with Gray.
As a result of Smith’s on-track actions during the final lap, NASCAR fined Smith $25,000 and he was docked 50 driver points. With the points deduction, Smith drops from sixth to 13th in the 2025 Xfinity driver standings. He now trails the top-12 Playoff cutline by a single point.
Both Gray and Jeb Burton received $5,000 fines each for confronting other competitors in the infield care center following the event. Gray was initially in position to notch his first Xfinity career victory before his run-in with Smith. He finished in 29th place on the track and is currently in 12th place in the standings. Burton, who confronted Kaulig Racing’s rookie competitor, Daniel Dye, over an earlier run-in, settled in 11th place and is in 10th place in the standings.
Mired beneath a trio of competitors penalized during Saturday’s Xfinity event, the No. 00 Haas Factory Team (HFT) Ford Mustang team was found to have violated Sections 8.8.10.4a of the NASCAR Rule Book. The section pertains to a team found to have at least one lug nut not properly installed on their respective entry, which was the case for the No. 00 HFT team during the post-race inspection process.
As a result of the lug nut penalty, the No. 00 HFT team received a $5,000 fine. During Saturday’s Xfinity event, the No. 00 HFT Ford entry, piloted by Sheldon Creed, finished in second place behind race winner Hill.
In the Cup Series, Aslan Pugh and Jonpatrick Kealy, the jackman and tire changer, respectively, for Trackhouse Racing, received a two-race suspension. The suspension was due to a right-rear wheel that rolled out of rookie Shane van Gisbergen’s No. 88 Trackhouse Chevrolet entry during Sunday’s event at Martinsville. The incident occurred with 126 laps remaining as van Gisbergen spun in between Turns 3 and 4 as a result of the wheel being loose before it completely rolled off the car as the driver drove away from his carnage scene. Ultimately, van Gisbergen finished in 34th place and is currently in 34th place in the Cup driver standings.
In the Craftsman Truck Series division, the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST team was fined $2,500 due to a lug nut violation. A single lug nut was found not to be properly installed on the entry. Rajah Caruth, who drives the No. 71 Chevrolet entry, finished in eighth place during Friday’s event at Martinsville and he is ranked in 15th place in the standings.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams and competitors have this upcoming weekend off from competition. They will return to action at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 11. Meanwhile, the Xfinity Series returns to action at Darlington Raceway this Saturday, April 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup Series will follow suit at Darlington on Sunday, April 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
