Sammy Smith opens up about P31 finish at Talladega 

JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith competed in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race and had a disappointing finish in P31. However, Smith didn't lose hope and expressed his thoughts by sharing a post on his Instagram account after the race.

The #8 Chevy driver qualified 14th for the Ag Pro 300 race held at Talladega Superspeedway with a best time of 53.10 seconds and a top speed of 180.33 mph. He was one spot behind his teammate and NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch. Despite a decent start from the middle of the pack, Smith failed to wrap up the race among the top 20 drivers.

Sammy Smith finished the race in P31 and shared an Instagram post featuring his car's picture alongside Brandon Jones' #20 Toyota. Reflecting upon his disappointing finish, the JR Motorsports driver wrote:

"Not our day, but happy with the speed and got some stage points as well. Appreciate the 8 team for fighting to keep me in it. Texas up next. 🎱"

Just like Sammy Smith, his teammate, Connor Zilisch, also failed to secure a spot in the top 20 drivers in the 113-lap race. Zilisch was caught in a last-lap accident after his best friend bumped the #88 Chevy's rear end. Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill won his 13th race, and Zilisch ended in P27.

The Andy's Frozen Custard 300 is scheduled for May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway. CW, PRN, and SiriusXM will broadcast the 200-lap/300-mile race at 2 PM ET.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. praised team driver Sammy Smith for making improvements after the Martinsville controversy

Earlier this month, JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith was involved in a controversy for making contact with Taylor Gray's Chevy. The last-minute move made by Smith sent Gray spinning, costing him his first win in the Xfinity Series. Also, the governing body slammed the #8 Chevy driver with a fine of $25,000 and deducted 50 points.

Following the controversial finish, the 20-year-old driver significantly improved in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 held on April 19, 2025. Initially, Smith ended the race as the runner-up, but later in the turn of events, Richard Childress Racing driver Jesse Love was disqualified, and the governing body declared Smith the winner.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was impressed by the #8 Chevy driver's performance in the race. It changed Dale Jr.'s perspective who praised Sammy Smith (via Dirty Mo Media's X handle):

"There was one moment in that race where I was very proud at a job center, talked about it on the show. Sam is under a ton of pressure. All this stemming from home. He put himself in a tough spot for criticism. He weathered the storm. You know what he did? One of the more impressive things is he called other race car drivers, like Mark Martin, and he had conversations with these people about how to be better, how to move forward. Sammy took everything seriously. He didn't brush it off. Did a little bit of homework." [00:00].

"You gotta give the kid a little grace because he's a kid. For him to survive, it takes grace, not taking him out to the city square and stone. He raced every corner, every position, with determination and intention. There was one moment he restarts I believe second he hustled the car on the outside. I saw determination, and I saw commitment," he added. [00:49]

The JR Motorsports driver currently ranks eighth on the Xfinity Series drivers' points table with 293 points. He secured one win at Rockingham Speedway, five top-ten finishes, and three top-five finishes alongside one pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.