? Chandler Smith doesn’t seem very happy with Sam Mayer in Pocono ?#HotPass | @bobpockrass pic.twitter.com/0Q9Cjejmbj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 13, 2024
Chandler Smith was not pleased with Sam Mayer following Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Pocono Raceway.
The 22-year-old driver climbed from his No. 81 Smith General Contracting Toyota GR Supra following Saturday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 and marched over to Sam Mayer, who was sitting inside his racecar on pit road after the completion of the event, and gave the JR Motorsports driver a piece of his mind, which included several choice words.
“He can’t handle being raced hard I guess, I don’t know,” Mayer said after the race. “That was the last person I expected to be upset with me today, huge apologies out to the No. 97 guys, I just messed up. I drove in a little too hard, the brake pedal just started fading a little bit and I just didn’t account for that, so that’s on me there, but Chandler [Smith], I don’t know man, not my problem.”
So, what happened between Sam Mayer and Chandler Smith that caused Smith to be angry enough to approach the window of Mayer’s racecar?
“He was saying that I put it on his door multiple times, which if you watch racing, you know that happens every lap, so not really too sure why he’s mad about that, definitely frustrated to see him come to my window like that, and not even give me a chance to talk back, so frustrating to hear that, but I’m also frustrated with myself for what happened with the No. 97.”
Chandler Smith definitely wasn’t as nonchalant about things after the race, though, and provided his thoughts on the way Mayer, a two-time Xfinity Series winner this season, raced him in the closing stages of Saturday’s event.
“I mean he sat on my door in the tunnel turn three times, is that about right, all three times, and then he wrecked the No. 97,” Smith said post-race. “He ain’t gonna mess with me anymore, I can promise you that, if he does he’s gonna — I guarantee he won’t do it again, so hopefully he got the message.”
Things had been pretty peaceful between Mayer and Smith before this afternoon’s Xfinity Series event at Pocono Raceway, but the Talking Rock, Georgia-native says he understands what could lead others in the garage to have issues with Mayer and the way he chooses to race others.
“No, I’ve never had anything go on with Mayer at all, we’ve always raced each other clean, respectfully, and I’ve had respect for him, I know some other people in the garage never really been on that same page with him, I’ve always had good run-ins with him, so I was like it’s whatever, I guess, it just sucks to be you. But, today I got a glimpse of what they were talking about.”
In Saturday’s Xfinity Series event, Mayer finished inside the top-10, in tenth, while Chandler Smith finished a disappointing 15th.
