​Smith was turned by Zachary Fitzwater Sr. on lap 55 of the race at Mirage Short Roval, but as Smith approached the field to line up, he ran into the back of Jek Porkins who was unrelated to the spin. Smith then forced Porkins in the direction of pit road and ran himself into the end of the concrete wall separating it from the track.
Smith placed last and was the only driver to drop out of the race. Porkins was running 25th at the time of the incident and finished 17th. "In this situation, one thing occurred but it spawned another thing that was wholly unnecessary," said Kris Neuert, NFRN's Director of Competition. "Last year, we didn't assess penalties, but we are looking into implementing them this year. We would make this a points penalty if there was clear disadvantage created, but since Porkins was at the rear of the field and gained position, in addition to having some responsibility for a later accident, we want to monitor Smith's driving over his next few races to ensure it remains clean." Smith blamed inability to steer as the reason for the Porkins incident. |
Archives
February 2023
Categories |