“He has no respect for me”: Sammy Smith delivers crystal clear stance on last lap Martinsville wreck against rival Taylor Gray

JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith had a dramatic crash with Joe Gibbs Racing's Taylor Gray on Saturday in the final lap of the NXS race in Martinsville. Both drivers were seen having a heated conversation after the event concluded before heading to the care center. Smith later shared his stance on the incident and said that he only did what he thought Gray would do to him in the same situation.

Both Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray had stayed in the top 10 through the initial two stages, and in the final few laps of the race, they found themselves in the battle for the lead. Notably, they had made slight contact earlier in the race. Smith had taken the lead on lap 248 by shoving the #54 JGR driver up the track before a late race caution triggered overtime.

During the restart, Smith was in the lead, with Gray right behind him. As they entered Turn 1, Gray made a move on the inside and bumped Smith’s car, pushing him up the track. This allowed Gray to take the lead. However, on the final corner of the final lap, Smith made an aggressive move on Turn 3. He drove in deep and hit the back of Gray’s car, spinning him out. The contact triggered a multi-car wreck at the start/finish line.

Speaking about the incident after getting released from the care center, Smith told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports:

"You know I am not very proud of that, of what I did. I mean, it's just... He just has no respect for me, and he was flipping me off under the red flags, swerving at my door. I moved him into (turn) 1, then he still had the lead those two restarts, and going on the back straightaway, I thought to myself, what would he do in this situation, and he would have done the exact same thing. So he’s flipping me off, and that right there was the line for me to ultimately make the decision I made."

Speaking about the heated discussion the two drivers had after the race, Smith added:

"He said he wants to go at it, I mean, we can go at it if he wants, but I think, at the end of the day, it's probably going to be a lot more going forward, and it's okay with me."

As a result of the crash, Sammy Smith finished in 10th place, while Gray, who was in a position to win, ended up in 29th.

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“Think that’s fair": Taylor Gray take on his battle with Sammy Smith

Taylor Gray, who is competing in his first full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series season, led a career-best 87 laps before the last-lap incident that ruined his chances of victory. After the race, he explained (via NASCAR.com) that the move he made on Sammy Smith on the final lap was fair because that’s exactly what Smith did to take the lead before the caution (on lap 248).

"So like the whole interaction in Turn 1, where initially he moved me up the race track and he got the lead from me, and then I did the same thing to him. Think that’s fair, right?” Gray argued.

However, he admitted that such incidents are more likely to happen on a tight track like Martinsville. He added:

“We know we’re coming down to the end of the race. I was a little upset when he first hit me, just because I felt like I haven’t put a scratch on him all year. He could have raced me a little bit better. But then again, it’s Martinsville.”

Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray will resume their on-track battle on Saturday, April 5, in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.