Austin Hill gives RCR its 100th Xfinity win; tempers flare between Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Austin Hill went from fifth to first on the final corner when the leaders wrecked to win Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race and give Richard Childress Racing it's 100th series victory.
Dillon also earned the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus.
Dillon wouldn't have had the chance to score his 12th career Xfinity victory and second of the season without the last-lap drama between Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray.
Smith ran into the back of Gray's car entering Turn 3, turning Gray and triggering a multi-car crash. The move came after Gray moved Smith up the track and out of the lead on the overtime restart.
The two drivers had to be separated from each other outside the infield care center after the race.
'I'm not very proud of what I did,' Smith said after exiting the infield care center. 'He just has no respect for me and he was flipping me off under the red flag and swerving at my door. I moved him into (Turn) 1. He still had the lead those two restarts.
'Going down the backstraightaway (on the final lap), I thought to myself what would he do in this situation? He would have done the exact same thing. He was flipping me off and that right there was the line for me to ultimately make the decision I made.
'If I just let him go, I accept I finish second today. I try to do my best for my team and myself to win a (Martinsville grandfather) clock. It just wasn't good enough.'
#NASCAR … Sammy Smith on what Taylor Gray said to him after Martinsville Xfinity finish: 'He said he wants to go at it. We can go at it if he wants.' pic.twitter.com/bMvj7oGkyT
Asked if there was anything constructive said by Gray afterward, Smith said: 'No. He said he wants to go at it. We can go at it if he wants. I think at the end of the day, there's probably going to be a lot more going forward and that's OK with me.'
Said Gray after the race: 'I feel like we had the best car all day. I can't thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough. We brought a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra. Just unfortunate – it's the same story I've lived here for the past two Martinsville race in a row. It sucks, but it is what it is. Long year.'
Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray had a confrontation outside the infield care center. pic.twitter.com/ScNfc6UKoB
Stage 1 winner: Connor Zilisch
Stage 2 winner: Connor Zilisch
Next: The series races 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, April 5 at Darlington Raceway on the CW Network.
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New York Times
39 minutes ago
- New York Times
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2 hours ago
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To chart his progress, Smith, Capista and Romano met on weekly FaceTime calls where they'd review his at-bats and emphasize the importance of trusting his judgment at the plate. Smith stopped chasing sliders and swinging at weak-contact pitches, and it led to an increase in walks and decrease in strikeouts. He became the top hitter in the league, batting .347 with 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 26 RBIs. That propelled him to a great sophomore season where he earned second-team All-America honors and led the Seminoles to the College World Series to help his draft stock rise. A rapid rise through pro ball After being drafted by the Cubs, Smith played 27 games of A ball. It was there that he really heated up, hitting a home run in six consecutive games for Myrtle Beach. That was another boost to his confidence. 'Yeah, 100% because I didn't know I could ever do that,' he said. Capista wasn't surprised at the success Smith was having because of the kind of person he is. 'When you get the response and the feedback of someone like Cam, you quickly learn that he's built different, he's wired different,' Capista said. 'It's so cliche to say you want to be great ... but when you hear it and you get to know someone like Cam, you quickly learn that he means it, and he does the work, he does the stuff in the background that no one sees.' Before spring training Smith visited the Maven Baseball Lab, where they helped him refine his swing path so he could take another step forward. 'I could see a video that my bat was getting pretty flat early before I would go to swing and I'm just glad I had somebody like them to explain it to me,' he said. 'Break it down like: 'Hey, you're dumping the water out of the cup too early. Let's keep that upright a little longer.'' After the trade to Houston, Smith quickly impressed. He hit .342 with four homers and 11 RBIs this spring while navigating the move from third base to right field to make the opening day roster. 'He was not overwhelmed by the spots we put him in,' manager Joe Espada said. 'He's mentally tough. He can deal with the obstacles and ups and downs of a season.' Now that Smith's made it to the majors, he's hoping to inspire others like him to do it. Smith, whose mother is white and father is Black, hopes to get more Black kids involved in the game. 'I didn't really have somebody to look up to or who was able to talk to me about being African American and playing baseball,' he said. 'So, I wanted to be that influence on other young players to inspire them to know that it's possible and to know that they can do it.' He doesn't have a relationship with his father, but he has connected with his paternal grandmother, an aunt and other relatives on that side of the family in recent years. His mother said not knowing a lot about them as a child spurred him to learn more about his culture and who he was. 'It's more of just wanting a piece of that and wanting to just cherish that side of him,' she said. 'Even though he didn't have that in his life, that's still part of who he is.'
