Kevin Harvick eviscerates Sammy Smith after Xfinity confrontation with Taylor Gray

Sammy Smith has received his fair share of criticism from NASCAR veterans following this past Saturday’s race at Martinsville. Smith, the JR Motorsports driver, slammed into race-leader Taylor Gray on the final corner, taking them both out of contention and allowing Austin Hill to drive by to take the checkered flag. 

Dozens of cars were torn up on the front stretch — a fitting image for a race that included 14 cautions and 102 caution laps. Smith slid across the start/finish line 10th, while Gray finished 29th. The two drivers exchanged words after the race and had to be separated before things turned physical. Smith admitted the move was “egregious,” but at the same time, he felt it was a move he had to make.

FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick took issue with Smith’s actions on and off the racetrack. Speaking on Tuesday’s “Happy Hour” podcast, Harvick explained why Smith showed a lack of respect for both Gray and his own team.

“Sammy Smith pretty much said, ‘I don’t care what he thinks. I don’t care what they think, I’m doing what I think I had to do, I have no respect for guy.’ Well, what about the guys that have to go back and fix your car?” Harvick said. “I know that I’ve had my ass reamed by my team. They hated me when I would do dumb stuff like that. … Want to see them bang doors. I want to see them push each other out of the way. But I don’t want to see them drive in from five cars deep to just wipe the guy out.”

Kevin Harvick goes after Sammy Smith for ‘hack move’ at Martinsville

NASCAR penalized Smith for his actions. Smith was fined $25,000 and docked 50 points. Some felt NASCAR should have parked Smith for a race. Others suggested Dale Earnhardt Jr. should do it. That was never under consideration, he said on the “Dale Jr. Download.”

Ultimately, Harvick feels that young drivers such as Smith haven’t been taught the correct way how to race. What he saw at Martinsville was a “hack move.”

“I just don’t think they’ve been taught,” Harvick said. “What we do is professional racing and nobody wants to watch — I mean, anybody can hold the gas down and just drive through the guy in front of them. Like, that’s just not how you do it. If you can drive in there and maybe push him up the racetrack a little bit and knock him out of the groove, I want to see that. I want to see rough racing. I like to watch racecars race rough. But I don’t want to watch them race like a bunch of hacks. That’s a hack move.”