"Not here for hypocrites": Nick Sanchez throws shade at Sammy Smith following heated post-race exchange at Portland

NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Sammy Smith and Nick Sanchez had a heated moment during the Pacific Office Automation 147 held on Saturday, August 30, 2025, at Portland International Raceway. Later, during a post-race interview, Sanchez expressed his views on the incident.

The #48 Chevy driver had a decent qualifying session for the 78-lap race. He began the race from P7 with a best time of 74.13 seconds and a top speed of 95.67 mph. Meanwhile, Smith was one spot behind him in P8 with a lap time of 74.14 seconds and a top speed of 95.66 mph.

The incident between Sammy Smith and Nicholas Sanchez happened during an overtime restart. Sanchez tried overtaking Smith, but instead, he made contact with Smith's right rear, sending him spinning on the track while doing so. The JRM star confronted the #48 Chevy driver, and later during an interview with FrontStretch Media, he alluded to the incident and said,

“I think I started eighth on the restart, and I don’t know what everyone else was doing on the restart, but somehow I ended up fighting for the lead into one. Yeah, I just tried to brake late and ended up locking both fronts. It seems like everyone kind of went a little deep, and from my perspective, I think he tried to make turn two and tried to come back right." [00:14 onwards]

“Obviously, unfortunate, but everyone’s playing bumper tag... And I’m not saying it gives me the right to do that, but if you’re not the aggressor, you’re probably going to get wrecked. I also can’t understand people that dish it out but they can’t take it. We know about that, right? I’m not here for hypocrites; I really don’t care.”

Nick Sanchez finished the 78-lap race among the top five drivers on the grid and secured a third-place finish. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith fell multiple spots and finished the event in P22. Additionally, JR Motorsports ace Connor Zilisch secured his eighth win of the season at Portland.

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“That douchebag”: Sammy Smith called out Jeb Burton on making repetitive contact during the Daytona race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. protégé Sammy Smith competed in the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola held on Friday, August 22, 2025, at Daytona International Speedway. But during the race, Smith got involved in a bit of a spat with Jeb Burton.

The JR Motorsports driver had a good qualifying session for the main event and began the race from P3. He then won stage one and held the lead consistently. However, with two laps to go, Burton moved up to challenge Smith, and while doing so, he made contact with the #8 Chevy's left rear, sending him spinning.

Reflecting on the same, Sammy Smith blasted with frustration on the team radio, and NASCAR analyst Matt Weaver shared:

Sammy Smith is furious at Jed Burton. "That douchebag has wrecked me three times." Calls him a moron.

The #8 Chevy driver replied:

"We've talked about this before. We've just got to get back to work."

Sammy Smith currently ranks eighth in the Xfinity Series points table with 664 points to his credit. He has secured one win, 13 top-ten finishes, 5 top-five finishes, and one pole position in 25 starts this season.