Jeff Burton criticizes NASCAR Xfinity race as Austin Hill wins Martinsville in chaotic finish

Former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton criticized the recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway, which ended in a controversial finish.

Austin Hill won Saturday’s Marine Corps 250 after Sammy Smith spun out Tylor Gray, who was leading, during the last turn of the final lap. This was not the only incident of the night, as the race was full of crashes and yellow flags. It was one of the most chaotic in recent Xfinity history with 14 cautions over 100 laps.

Veteran driver and color commentator for NBC Sports, Jeff Burton, talked about the race with former crew chief Steve Letarte and pointed to the lack of respect and accountability among young drivers.

"It wasn't just the finish. Like, the entire race was just unacceptable. People intentionally running into people, people intentionally wrecking people. It's just unacceptable. And what's so frustrating about it is that, you know, you'll see on social media where these young brats, they don't care. They're not talented? Bull crap. These are very good race car drivers. These guys have talent. It's not that they don't have talent; it's that there's the lack of respect, the lack of accountability, right? For these kinds of actions," Jeff Burton said (00:40 onwards).

JR Motorsports' Smith, 20, and Joe Gibbs Racing's rookie Gray had been fighting for the lead on restarts and bumped into each other several times throughout the race. JRM's Connor Zilisch, who led a race-high of 100 laps, finished 28th after multiple crashes and the wild late-race restart. Sheldon Creed finished second and Justin Allgaier came in third.

Jeff Burton's son Harrison Burton also competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for AM Racing. He finished 24th at Martinsville and has had three top-10s so far this season.

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"He can take this as an opportunity" - Jeff Burton calls on NASCAR Xfinity director to take action

Jeff Burton believes NASCAR needs to step up and make sure drivers race with more respect and responsibility. He suggested that if drivers continue reckless behavior, NASCAR should start penalizing them by parking their cars during races. During the same conversation, Burton urged NASCAR Xfinity Series director, Eric Peterson, who took over from former director Wayne Auton this season, to take action.

"I think he can take this as an opportunity to get these Xfinity drivers together and say, look, we're not putting up with this... If we're going to have this many young drivers, then, by definition, it's a development series, and we're going to treat it as such. And if you do these things, we're going to park you. We're going to black-flag you. We're going to park you during the race," Jeff Burton said (01:19).

Meanwhile, NASCAR officials are looking into the last incident, according to FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, and will decide on a penalty by Thursday (April 3).