r/NASCAR • u/CNASFan1992 • 2d ago
[Srigley] Asked on @SiriusXMNASCAR if his beef with Sammy Smith is over, Taylor Gray says: "I have too much respect for [JRM] to start wrecking their cars just to prove a point. If Sammy owned and worked on his own car, then I would probably be telling you a different story."
https://x.com/joe_srigley/status/1907841953992937814166
u/Dont_hate_the_8 2d ago
All star race idea. Drivers have to set up their own cars.
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u/TwoSecondsToMidnight Kligerman 2d ago
With only tools from Harbor Freight.
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u/Dont_hate_the_8 2d ago
Under two EZ ups, with an open top trailer
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u/SpenceSmithback 2d ago
And race on random old tires they dug out of the dumpster
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u/Dont_hate_the_8 2d ago
Hammered out body panels from the local short tracks
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u/necropaw Earnhardt Jr. 2d ago
Read the first couple words and thought this was going to say "Hammered out of their damn minds"
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u/Impossible_Penalty13 2d ago
I had a friend that used to refer to late season race bodies as “pants cutters”.
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u/wirsteve 2d ago
It isn't true of everyone, but the youth driving in the cars today are great drivers, but they can't build a car, and many don't know how to work on a car. I think if they realized truly how much work it was, they'd be more respectful to the machines.
Again it isn't true of everyone.
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u/SpenceSmithback 2d ago
And while Taylor also comes from a family of billionaires from the oil and private jet businesses that are more than capable of replacing his car if he stuffs it in the fence, he was a crew guy for Steve Torrence for a brief period a few years ago. So technically he does have slightly more experience getting his hands dirty than Sammy
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u/Phenomenal_Hoot 2d ago
I remember hearing Larson a few years ago say something about he doesn’t know the first thing about how the car works or even particularly have an interest in cars for that matter. Not knocking him in particular, I’m just like man things would be so different if these guys actually did just a little work on the cars themselves.
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u/EWall100 2d ago
Well some do. I can't remember if it was on air or Twitter but I've seen Blaney turn a wrench this year.
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u/wirsteve 2d ago
It would shock me if Blaney and Elliott didn't have to work on their cars as kids.
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u/Altruistic_Grass7253 Chase Elliott 2d ago
I went to a late model race about 10 years ago, and Chase was working on his car and after the race he was loading equipment into the trailer.
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u/Joey_Logano Preece 2d ago
Blaney yes. Preece has including essentially putting together a Modified in his spare time by himself.
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u/Despacitosuarez 2d ago
Suarez and Bowman work on cars in their free time. I wanna say Logano does too cause he has a collection of classic cars and knows a lot about them. I'm sure guys like Blaney, Bubba and maybe Elliott know a thing or two as well
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u/Zeyz 2d ago
I met Alex through mutual friends in the North Carolina car scene a few years before he got into the cup series. I think it was the first year he was in the Nationwide series. He had a bagged Lexus at the time (I had a bagged BMW if anyone cares lol), and he was super into cars. Really cool, chill guy. I’ve always pulled for him since then.
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u/OrangePilled2Day 2d ago
Larson is one of the only exceptions for me because it really seems like there's not much going on in there on race day aside from drive forward.
If he actually had a technical understanding of the car it might hinder him.
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u/Phenomenal_Hoot 2d ago
Definitely think Larson is a savant and it doesn’t hinder him a bit. Wasn’t trying to knock him in particular because he actually drives really clean he’s just the one I heard the quote from.
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u/ubelmann Chase Elliott 1d ago
It's interesting that you'd be able to give championship-level feedback on the car without knowing the technical details, but I suppose maybe it could help on some level to not understand what's happening -- if he knows that he doesn't know what the solution is, his feedback could be more unbiased and focused strictly on the car's behavior.
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
I think that's what makes Cliff Daniels such a great crew chief. He can understand what Kyle is saying and translate it to changes he can make or strategies he can call to help them succeed.
That and also Cliff is an amazing coach who gets Kyle hyped up in moments where, earlier in his career especially, he would have gotten down or choked a win away
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u/coffeeshopslut 2d ago
The driver mechanic is a dying breed. Josh Williams is one. Does Christopher Bell work on his dirt cars?
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
It helps that Larson came from a relatively working class family that busted their ass to help get him to the top and he knew what it took to get to the track and that wrecks would hurt that.
That and he is also just a freaking generational talent who could whoop people's asses without needing to wreck them
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u/Aurion7 Martin 2d ago edited 2d ago
Eh, everyone's got different styles.
Some guys are more 'car doing X and Y because part A is behaving this way so I will do Z which will blah blah blah', some guys just have a feel for it moreso than outlining all the technicalities behind why they are driving the way they do.
One of those things where the only wrong answer is if you're bad. That's never been a concern with Larson. About the worst you can really say is that at CGR he crashed sometimes because CGR was what it was and he pushed a little too hard trying to compensate for the car's issues from the driver seat- but that's a commentary on the car tending to be a B- in terms of pace most of the time.
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u/squadracorse15 2d ago
I don't hate on the guys who are more interested in driving the car rather than working on it (hell, I'm the same way), but I do agree that these guys need to understand how much money and time goes into making that car. Racing never was cheap, and it's only getting more expensive. And when a lot of these guys could just wreck one week and have an all new car ready for next week because mom and dad can pay that bill no problem, it doesn't teach the kids the value of all that money and work that goes into letting them race.
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u/wirsteve 2d ago
Yeah I don't mean anything buy it, I think without knowing how much effort goes into building a car you aren't going to be as respectful towards it.
Like Earnhardt wasn't wreckless, he was just aggressive. He knew the effort.
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u/squadracorse15 2d ago
Oh, I wasn't trying to argue lol. I think we agree if anything. Dale knew where the line was and even though he absolutely would push his luck, he also made damn sure to try and bring the car home in one piece. A lot of the rich kids coming up just don't understand that these teams don't have the crazy funding that their parents do, and they understandably don't have the same respect for their equipment.
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u/kbfan18 Kyle Busch 2d ago
Similarly, they’ve likely never seen someone die at the racetrack, so they don’t appreciate how dangerous the sport is, even with all the modern safety advancements.
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u/wirsteve 2d ago
Yeah I think this is a big piece of it too.
Two guys died during practice days apart of the Daytona 500 in 1994, and they still ran the race (Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr). That seems insane to me now. Not to mention the deaths of Petty, Irwin, Roper and Earnhardt over less than 12 months between 2000 and 2001.
It is easy to forget that it is a dangerous sport.
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u/Crash_Test_Dummy66 Logano 2d ago
Is it just the youth? I feel like most of the cup guys aren't really mechanic types. Heck in Days of Thunder Robert Duvall's character has a whole bit about how drivers don't really understand how the cars work and sure it's just a movie but I don't think that idea just came out of thin air given how much NASCAR helped get that movie made. Obviously there have been plenty of drivers who worked on their own cars but I feel like we tend to overestimate just how many of those guys there were "back in the day".
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u/wirsteve 2d ago
The Days of Thunder era was really the last era with a lot of guys who built and knew their way around cars well. You had the obvious Alan Kulwicki, but then Geoff Bodine bought his team and was an owner driver too. The whole Bodine family was really smart. Robby Gordon was an owner driver. Tony Stewart knew the cars inside and out as well. Mark Martin and the Burton brothers are known to have built cars. Matt Kenseth knew everything about cars, but left the building to Robbie Reiser and then Roush. Bobby Hamilton, Bill Elliott, Joe Nemechek, Jeremy Mayfield, Dave Marcis, Ken Schrader, Derrike Cope, Phil Parrsons, Rich Bickie, Jimmy Means, Dennis Setzer...the list is endless from that era.
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u/Biolex-Z Bowman 2d ago edited 2d ago
Taylor got over with me big this weekend, not only his performance all race, but also how he respectfully moved Sammy after Sammy moved him the first time, then how he handled all of it post race, all the way till now i got nothing but respect for how he handled this situation
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u/BOBANSMASH51 Jeb Burton 1d ago
Yeah. I want to hate him, but he has raced well and raced clean. Gotta give the guy his respect and credit.
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u/igrewupugly 2d ago
Son of billionaire has more respect for cars and the labor of the team employees who build them than 80% of the field
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u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Byron 2d ago
To be fair, i believe Gray’s family owns an NHRA team. He probably witnessed a lot of that growing up
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u/KyBuschOwnsYou Kyle Busch 2d ago
I’m proud that Taylor Gray is being the bigger man in all of this
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u/WheedMBoise 2d ago
I respect this response heavy. Taylor is clearly not talking out of his ass here, he’s had a chance to junk someone two consecutive Martinsville races and has opted to race clean. Cool to see in this era.
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u/FishOnAHorse 2d ago
For coming from a rich kid background, Taylor Gray really seems to have his head screwed on straight
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u/SpenceSmithback 2d ago
Grew up in drag racing. As someone who's spent plenty of time in both pit areas, there's a night and day difference in the overall vibe and he's a product of that. Common courtesy and looking out for your fellow racer is much more of a thing on that side of the fence
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
Which makes sense in drag racing because if you have one competitor in any given race and, if you don't have them, you literally do not race. I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense and it makes sense why drag racing feels like such a wholesome environment
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u/SpenceSmithback 1d ago
Well actually if your opponent is unable to make the run you automatically advance to the next round. However, giving your opponent a second to make a quick fix and race for it instead of making the run without them and getting the easy win is very common
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u/Reddragon0585 2d ago
He was in my 4th grade class. I remember him being very chill. Honestly I never knew just how rich his family was until a few years ago. But in school he was a little shy but a good kid too.
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u/MrCheggersPartyQuiz 2d ago
If this isn’t a valid reason to like Taylor Gray, I don’t know what is.
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u/Extreme-Bite-9123 2d ago
Aside from the incident a few years back, there’s not a reason not to like him
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
You do dumb things as a teenager. And it really seems like he's learned from it and grown so I don't hold that against him at all and I don't think you or others do either
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u/Moppyploppy 2d ago
Translation: Hey JRM.....hire me over Sammy, please!
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u/mwr55fan Keselowski 2d ago
Given his family ownership in Tricon and their close relationship with Toyota, no.
Also, the Gray boys can go race anywhere anytime in anything. They are billionaires, the Gray money is REAL money. They don’t need to beg someone to hire them 🤣
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u/Extreme-Bite-9123 2d ago
The grays have enough money to fund a cup team for both Tanner and Taylor if they wanted too
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
I'd love to see that for Taylor. He is a true talent. In trucks he caught on really quickly and Xfinity he caught on really quickly. I have a feeling, in Cup, he would be like a Chris Buscher or Alex Bowman type who can win a lot and contend for titles with the right equipment & circumstances, and can be a pretty good driver otherwise
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u/Extreme-Bite-9123 2d ago
Yeah, no. Firstly, Johnny gray is a part owner of tricon. Secondly, the grays are gibbs’ are close, and Taylor and Ty especially are pretty close friends. There’s a good chance he has a JGR ride in his future
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u/lordjollygreen Stenhouse Jr. 2d ago
Gray has enough money backing him that he could go wherever he wants to with no questions asked.
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u/ChaseTheFalcon 2d ago
I respect this answer, like he knows he doesn't want to bother those who have no part in this feud
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u/atlutdprospects Bell 2d ago
JRM does a good enough job of wrecking their own cars, I'm not sure Taylor would be able to add much there even if he wanted to
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u/TimmyHillFan 2d ago
I’m glad to see Taylor Gray getting the attention he deserves. I always thought he was underrated in the Trucks; although he didn’t win, he was just always running in the top 10 and you could tell he had the talent.
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u/Extreme-Bite-9123 2d ago
Honestly, tricon isn’t that great of equipment. Aside from two guys who had been full time in cup and Tyler ankrum, the only guy to ever win for tricon is Corey heim. Tanner has come close a handfull of times, as did Taylor, but most no one else has even come close. The 1 is almost always awful, same with the 5, and while gio looks decent, he’s not Corey heim
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
I like seeing Gio in Trucks but I think they rushed him up. I think he needed a year in ARCA to get more comfortable. I would have preferred to have seen William Sawalich in the 17 truck, especially looking at how he's doing in Xfinity where he has some moments but seems out of his depth at times
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 1d ago
I like seeing Gio in Trucks but I think they rushed him up. I think he needed a year in ARCA to get more comfortable. I would have preferred to have seen William Sawalich in the 17 truck, especially looking at how he's doing in Xfinity where he has some moments but seems out of his depth at times
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u/little238 2d ago
Interpretation. My beef is with Sammy, not with JRM. In the car don't want to touch him, but let's meet without cameras all around and it's different.
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u/eestionreddit 2d ago
I remember when Taylor Gray was the one getting fined for using his phone in the car during an ARCA test. Kid has matured these past couple years.
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u/GeetarMan9 2020 NCS Champion 2d ago
Taylor earned my respect while being a huge JRM fan, I lost a shit ton of respect for Sammy. Amazing response.
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u/Rise3711 2d ago
Man maybe there is hope with these kids. I don't even know if I could have handle this like he has and I'm a good chunk older ha
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u/Dishface 2d ago
Hell yeah Taylor, love it when drivers call out paid drivers like this.
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u/WheedMBoise 2d ago
I mean objectively, Taylor is also a pay driver so that’s not a real distinction here. The difference is that Sammy Smith doesn’t give a fuck about others evidently.
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u/MeeekloBraca 2d ago
If Sammy Smith owned his car he wouldn’t of done what he did Saturday night to begin with
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u/Extreme-Bite-9123 2d ago
Yeah, you don’t see Clement’s or seig or brown (when his team existed) or friesen or any of the other owner drivers pulling idiot moves like this. Just the rich nepo babies with no class, patience, or respect.
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u/SeattlePassedTheBall 2d ago
If Sammy owned and worked on his own car he would have too much respect for it to turn it into a bulldozer and dump Gray.
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u/CWinter85 2d ago
It also helps that NASCAR punished him. I wish they wouldn't wait a few days, but have people the trust to make that decision at the track. It would help cool heads if we all knew Sammy being DQ'd while Hill was still in Victory Lane.
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u/Bud3131123 2d ago
I became a fan after last year and the deal with Eckes. This only further solidifies that. Big fan.
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u/CarStar12 Ryan Blaney 2d ago
I love his mentality and the way he’s handled everything.
But I do have a worry that him saying this and not really ever getting even is putting out a welcome mat for the drivers that embrace today’s ultra aggressive style to just use him up more and more.
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u/SeanWick501 2d ago
Sammy wrecks too many people and acts like it's nothing.... not someone i would call a winner. I dislike that he drives for Jr., hope they move on from him
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u/Arocks781 2d ago
Because I'm sure the son of the owner of tricon has worked really hard to get where he is
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u/UnicornMaster27 2d ago
I think the fact that he may not have worked to get where he’s at, and STILL understands that Sammy isn’t the one that has to fix the damage and pay the repair bill, says a lot more good about Taylor than anything
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u/beaujangles727 2d ago
Yeah it’s not just all about “coming from nothing” to understand respect.
The issue is that a lot of these kids are raised with “you’re rich you don’t have to have accountability” (see:Ty Gibbs) vs being raised to understand you are extremely fortunate and to respect others around you, especially people who are contributing to your success.
Being rich in racing is as old as racing itself is. It’s just now it’s more watered down as racing is “cooler” than stick and ball sports as well as generations living out their dreams and aspirations through their kids. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be respectful to not only your team, but the teams of your competitors you’re racing against. It’s not a money problem in the sport itself a respect problem.
I gained a lot of respect for Tanner this weekend. And lost more for Sammy (if I even had any to begin with).
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u/thewhitejamal Gibbs 2d ago
You can have respect for the people building the cars without being the one building the cars
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u/KWeber94 Keselowski 2d ago
You can be a rich kid and still have respect. Is it rare? Most definitely. But I believe if more pay drivers had this mentality that things would be a lot better. Kudos to Gray for the way he’s going about this
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u/squadracorse15 2d ago
I think that comes down to the parents more than the kids a lot of the time. A lot of rich parents just don't teach their kids the real value of work and money, and the kids grow up thinking a wrecked car is just another bill to pay without realizing the crew is gonna be working a lot of OT to either fix it or build a new car. And that money spent means a lot more to the teams than the rich parents most of the time.
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u/thegame310 Kurt Busch 2d ago
These kids are annoying as fuck. I'm sure Taylor Gray is turning the wrenches and writing the checks just as much as Sammy Smith is.
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u/ITMAKESSENSE72 2d ago
This reminds me of people pretending one rich politician is better than another rich politician, in both cases, none of them understand the real world. That said, I have seen those Gray's work on their pro stock cars and stuff, the family knows cars. This is just two ride buyers fighting over who has the richer daddy.
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u/Dry-Membership3867 2d ago
That’s the type of attitude I like to see