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NASCAR Xfinity driver Taylor Gray shared his thoughts on Sammy Smith following their last-lap incident at Martinsville Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said he wouldn't wreck Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports cars out of respect, but would make an exception if Smith owned the team.
Gray, driver of the No. 54 Toyota GR Supra, finished 29th in the US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville after Sammy Smith wrecked him out of the lead on the final lap. Smith dropped to 10th, while Austin Hill took the lead from the inside to win the race.
When asked about his beef with the No. 8 JR Motorsports driver, Taylor Gray, 20, told SiriusXM NASCAR (via Joseph Srigley on X):
"I have too much respect for [JRM] to start wrecking their cars just to prove a point. If Sammy owned and worked on his own car, then I would probably be telling you a different story."
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The statement follows Sammy Smith's post-race interview, where the Chevrolet pilot claimed Taylor Gray doesn't respect him. Smith also argued that Gray would've done the same if their positions were reversed.
The 29th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway extended Taylor Gray's top-10 drought to three races. The New Mexico native, who ran a full-time Craftsman Truck Series schedule with Tricon Garage last year, amassed one top-5 and three top-10s after seven weeks of racing in the 2025 season.
Gray ranks 12th in the points standings, one spot ahead of Sammy Smith. The latter driver dropped to 13th after NASCAR docked him 50 points and fined him $25,000 for wrecking Gray last Saturday.
"It sucks" - Taylor Gray on unfortunate last-lap incident with Sammy Smith at Martinsville
In a post-race interview at Martinsville Speedway, Taylor Gray said it was unfortunate to finish 29th driving a strong car for the weekend. He thanked Joe Gibbs Racing for his racecar before saying the season is still long.
A win would've punched his ticket to the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs for the first time. Instead, Austin Hill took the checkered flag, while Sammy Smith finished 10th. Gray told The CW Sports:
"It sucks. I feel like we had the best car all day. I can't thank Joe Gibbs Racing enough. I feel like we brought a really fast Operation GR Supra, as fast as Xfinity Mobile. Just unfortunate. It's the same story I've lived here for two years... two Martinsvilles in a row. Sucks but it is what it is. Long year."
When asked whether he would remember the incident in the races to come, the 20-year-old JGR driver replied:
"I mean, I don't know. It just depends."
The Xfinity Series has 26 races left on the calendar, with the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Helps a Hero 200 at Darlington Speedway happening this weekend. The 147-lap race around the 1.366-mile track is scheduled on April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET. All Xfinity races will be covered on The CW Sports.
