Dale Earnhardt Jr. crystal clear on JRM driver’s future after intentional Martinsville disaster

On Tuesday evening, NASCAR released its weekly penalty list following the Martinsville race, penalizing Sammy Smith, who races for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team, JR Motorsports. The governing body issued a 50-point deduction and a $25,000 fine. Dale Jr. addressed the situation on a recent episode of his podcast, expressing support for Smith.

The sanctioning body penalized Smith after the last-lap multi-car wreck at Martinsville Speedway. The JR Motorsports driver was running second, and during an intense battle with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Taylor Gray, the duo collided, sparking a multi-car pile-up. NASCAR fans criticized the young driver and suggested they should "park" him.

However, team co-owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., dismissed all the notions and defended his team driver. He stated,

"There's a lot of people out there that are like, oh, man, this car's got a parking Dale Junior should park. You know, anybody who thinks I'm gonna park Sammy, that's out of the question. never gonna happen." [00:00]

"When I walked out of that racetrack, I've never been more disappointed and frustrated than that day. I thought on it. I steamed on this for forty-eight hours. Sammy is my driver. You all can continue to be pissed and think what you want. I got to shift to what do I do to give Sammy the best advice? I got to figure out how Sammy can clean this up, and in the end, you know, I got to support him and try to give him the tools and the knowledge to make the better decision next time," he added.

Sammy Smith finished the US Marine Corps 250 in tenth place; meanwhile, Taylor Gray fell to 29th place. Also, after NASCAR penalized the JR Motorsports driver, he fell from sixth to 13th place in the driver's points standings.

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"Deserves Better": Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Martinsville Speedway race held last weekend

Former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his views on the US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway. JR Motorsports' Connor Zilisch dominated stage one of the race. However, as the race progressed toward its end, chaos broke out on the track. The race featured 14 yellow flags, covering a total of 104 laps.

Additionally, JRM's driver, Sammy Smith, caused a multi-wreck pile-up on the final lap, changing the dynamics of the race. Reflecting upon all the chaos, the former NASCAR driver referred to it as one of the tainted races on the 0.526-mile track. He wrote (via X):

"This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better."

Notably, Dale Earnhardt Jr. secured one win and 18 top-ten finishes at the Martinsville Speedway in his 19-year career. His last win on the short track came during the 2014 season while driving the Hendrick Motorsports #88 Chevy.