Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t appreciate  messy Xfinity Series race at Martinsville.

 

A race littered with cautions ended with Austin Hill sidestepping a massive late wreck for an overtime victory. Hill escaped with an unexpected triumph after Sammy Smith rear-ended leader Taylor Gray on the final lap.

Before the chaotic ending, Earnhardt Jr. vocalized displeasure over the Martinsville race on social media.

 

“This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better,” Earnhardt wrote.

Denny Hamlin, who hopes to continue his long track record of Martinsville success on Sunday, concurred with Dale Jr. when imploring the Xfinity Series to take action.

 

“It just takes 1 penalty and it will stop this s**t,” Hamlin replied to Earnhardt. “For the short term that is. Gotta send a message.”

 

Hamlin called the ending “absolute garbage” and imagined what he’d say on the CW broadcast in a separate post.

 

“I wish I were in the booth,” Hamlin wrote. “I’d get fired but I damn sure would call these idiots out.”

 

However, a CW analyst also condemned the final result. Parker Kligerman left an unflattering review of what he witnessed.

 

 

“Not the best display by the Xfinity Series tonight,” Kligerman wrote. “For most of the stuff through the field I feel I’ve almost become desensitized to it as it’s just become so common. But as I said, that move at the end was unacceptable.”

 

Some drivers were also bothered by Saturday’s events. After finishing third, Xfinity veteran Justin Allgaier said that racing is “not acceptable.”

 

“Twenty years ago, we didn’t race like this … It’s just the nature of where we’re at,” Allgaier said, via Frontstretch. “I hate it, but it is what it is.”

 

Smith, who had a heated exchange with Gray following the wreck, even appeared to realize that he went too far.