MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Matt Crafton, a three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, didn’t mince words in how to address lack of respect on the track after Saturday’s caution-filled playoff race at Martinsville Speedway.
“Whip somebody’s ass,” Crafton said after a race slowed 14 times for 88 laps. “If they wreck you, at the end of the day, don’t just talk about it, do something about it. That’s my motto. These guys work too hard. Sponsors pay too much money to get wrecked and (shown) no class at that.
“Just bust somebody in the mouth and that will fix that.”
MORE: What is proper etiquette between playoff, non-playoff drivers?
MORE: Martinsville results
John Hunter Nemechek, a playoff driver who crashed after he was turned by Austin Wayne Self, a non-playoff driver, also addressed the matter after Crafton on Saturday.
Nemechek said on what to do: “I think that (referring to Crafton’s comments) or have NASCAR get involved.
“There’s nothing that NASCAR has done. It’s just like the (Self) incident. It’s blatant that he just hooked me in the right rear for no apparent reason and wrecked us. That was that. There should be some type of consequence there.
“I view that as the same thing as Joey Logano-Matt Kenseth at Martinsville. They took each other out in their own playoff deal. (Kenseth) wasn’t in the playoffs (he had been eliminated). How can you view that differently? It’s being more consistent with calls and seeing those scenarios.”
A difference from the two events. Kenseth was nine laps down when he returned to the track at Martinsville in 2015 and was passed by Logano, who was leading, before sending Logano into the wall. NASCAR suspended Kenseth two races. Saturday, NASCAR did not penalize Self.
Ben Rhodes said after the race: “You don’t have to ask me about respect, I was trying to avoid people all day. I let plenty of people go by that were beating my back bumper off. Sure enough, when they got up there in a fighting match, I would drive back by them once they started racing side-by-side and doing something stupid.”
Crafton, Nemechek, Rhodes and Martinsville winner Zane Smith all will race for the championship Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
