LONG POND, Pa. — Chandler Smith and Sam Mayer had a difference of opinion after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Mayer hustled to a 10th-place finish and Smith 15th, but close-quarters action in the Pocono Mountains 225 left Smith frustrated with Mayer. After the race, Smith exited his No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and went directly to Mayer’s car, expressing said frustration with a raised voice while Mayer sat in his car unbuckling.
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The root of Smith’s anger stemmed from how he felt Mayer raced him.
“I mean he sat on my door in the Tunnel Turn three times — about wrecked all three times,” Smith told NASCAR.com. “And then he wrecked the 97 (Shane van Gisbergen). He ain’t gonna mess with me anymore; I can promise you that. And if he does, I guarantee he won’t do it again. Hopefully he got the message.”
Mayer was left surprised by how angered Smith was after the 90-lap matinee at Pocono — particularly before he could even get out of his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. He, instead, had van Gisbergen on his mind after a bump from Mayer entering Turn 2 sent SVG spinning from 10th with seven laps remaining.
“He can’t handle being raced hard, I guess; I don’t know,” Mayer told NASCAR.com. “I mean, that was the last person I expected to be upset with me today. Huge apologies out to the 97 guys. I just messed up. I drove in a little too hard. Brake pedal started fading a little bit and I didn’t account for that, so that’s on me there.
“But Chandler, I don’t know, man. Not my problem.”
Mayer saw nothing egregious from his side-by-side battles with Smith around the 2.5-mile triangular circuit, adding to his post-race surprise.
“He was saying that I put it on his door multiple times, which if you’ve watched racing, you know that that happens every lap,” Mayer said. “So not really too sure why he’s mad about that. Definitely frustrated to see him come in my window like that and not even give me a chance to talk back. Frustrating to hear that, but I’m also frustrated with myself for what happened with the 97.”
Smith said he and Mayer had raced against each other just fine over the years, but Saturday’s aggression was enough to be a tipping point for the 22-year-old Smith.
“I’ve never had anything go on with Mayer at all,” Smith said. “We’ve always raced each other clean, respectful, and I‘ve had respect for him. I know a lot of other people in the garage never have really been on that same page with him. I’ve always had good run-ins with him, so I was like, ‘Oh it’s whatever, I guess. Just sucks to be you, right?’ But today, I got a glimpse of what they were talking about and I’m not gonna put up with that.”
While Mayer and Smith both walked away with top-15 finishes, van Gisbergen — a three-time winner this season in Xfinity competition — finished 31st after separate contact on the race’s final restart.
The Xfinity Series next races on July 20 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 3:30 p.m. ET (USA Network, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Source Agencies
