Rockingham runner-up Sammy Smith makes feelings clear on Jesse Love’s ‘hard racing’ in final overtime
JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith inherited the race win at Rockingham Speedway after post-race inspections. However, on the racetrack, he missed out on the victory after an aggressive duel on the final restart of the race. He came home in second place behind RCR driver Jesse Love after Love made a bold pass during the overtime restart. In the post-race interview, Smith made his feelings clear on the hard racing at the end of the race.
This was the first Xfinity event held at Rockingham Speedway since 2004, and the race delivered on its promise. Throughout the race, there were eight different leaders. Four of them led 47 laps or more, including Jesse Love, who led 53 laps. He also had the fastest lap of the race and earned a bonus point.
Sammy Smith took the lead on lap 246 with just four laps to go, and it looked like he might grab the win. But a spin by Connor Zilisch on the next lap brought out the second red flag in the last 10 laps, forcing the race into overtime.
When the race restarted in overtime, Sammy Smith chose the inside line. Love lined up behind him in the second row. The RCR driver wasted no time, charging hard and pushing Smith up the track going into Turn 1. That move gave Love the lead, and he held onto it to score his second victory of the season, only to be disqualified later due to a technical infringement.
Speaking in a post-race interview about Love's move at the final restart, Sammy Smith shared:
"You know, that was good hard racing right there. I ran in (hard) that first restart when I got the lead. So, you know, congrats to Jesse, and we brought a really fast car today... We just, man, we did a good job saving fuel on that long green flag run to kind of get us in position to be there at the end, and we had a good car all day.
“Just thanks to everybody,” he added. “All you can ask for is a good spot like that to be in for a shot at the end, and we did. So, we’ll move on to Talladega.”
After Love's disqualification, Sammy Smith walked away from Rockingham Speedway with both the race win and the Dash 4 Cash bonus of $100,000.
"I can pay my fine back," Sammy Smith jokes about paying back his #25,000 fine
On Saturday, March 29, 2025, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway, JRM driver Sammy Smith was penalized for intentionally causing a crash on the final lap. Smith collided with Taylor Gray's No. 54 Toyota and sent him spinning into the wall.
This triggered a multi-car crash behind the leaders. Austin Hill managed to avoid the chaos and secured the victory. After reviewing the incident, NASCAR determined that Smith's actions were against the sport's behavioral guidelines. He was fined $25,000 and docked 50 driver points, dropping him from sixth to 13th in the standings
During the post-race interview at Rockingham, Smith was asked about what he said earlier that he wouldn't be able to pay the fine. Smith shared:
"I guess I can pay my fine back, so that's a little bit exciting, I guess. But, we'll keep digging. I am really happy with the progress we've made, we'll keep digging."
Sammy Smith will return to Xfinity racing action on Saturday, April 26, in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.