Dale Jr. delivers a blunt verdict on RCR ace who tasted glory at JRM’s NASCAR champion’s expense

Former NASCAR star driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his verdict on Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill's win at Martinsville, following a controversial finish, on his podcast series, 'Dale Jr. Download.' The 256-lap race witnessed 14 cautions over 104 laps and a multi-car pile-up on the final lap.

Earnhardt Jr.'s co-owned team JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Taylor Gray battled for the lead in the final stage of the race. On the final restart, Gray lined up behind Smith and quickly snatched the lead from Smith.

However, the JRM driver was not ready to lose the lead and drove deep, making contact with Gray's rear end and ultimately spinning him out. This allowed the Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill to sneak from fifth place to secure the 100th victory for the team and win a $100,000 prize. Reflecting upon the same, JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Jr. gave his verdict on Hill's win (via YouTube):

"Austin Hill gets out of that car, and he's like, I damn won! I won! Why didn't I? What the hell did I do wrong here? I am at victory lane; I must have done it right." [17:49]

Following the last-lap wreck, the governing body slammed Sammy Smith with a 50-point deduction penalty and a $50,000 fine. Smith fell from sixth to 13th after receiving the penalty.

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NASCAR star Dale Jr. gets clear about Sammy Smith's future with the team after the Martinsville disaster

After NASCAR released the weekly penalty report on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, fans lambasted JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith for his last-minute maneuver at Martinsville, and some suggested that his boss, Dale Jr., should "park" him down.

However, Earnhardt Jr. dismissed the critics and defended his team driver:

"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.

The #8 Chevy driver for JR Motorsports finished the US Marine Corps 250 in tenth place. Meanwhile, Smith's teammate, Justin Allgaier, secured a podium finish in the 256-lap race on March 29, 2025.