A race victory is usually celebrated by a driver and his team, but for Joe Gibbs Racing star and latest Xfinity race winner Chandler Smith, a scolding might also be on the cards. Just to give you some context, the driver of the #81 car was responsible for the 13-car wreck that ensued towards the end of the race that he eventually won. The incident took out teammate John Hunter Nemechek among others, who had no idea at the time what had happened. Now that he is probably aware, there may be a bit of tension in the JGR shop.

Smith himself also realizes how his role in the wreck might have repercussions. If reports are to be believed, the driver even confessed his fate to his team after the wreck took out most of the field.

Chandler Smith left John Hunter Nemechek utterly confused in Phoenix

Joe Gibbs Racing is one of the biggest teams in the history of NASCAR, so mistakes like that simply aren’t forgiven even if the culprit comes home with the race victory. The damage to Nemechek’s car will require a lot of money to fix and nothing can soften that blow to the team. According to veteran journalist Dustin Albino, the driver of the #81 car is already wary of his future at the shop as he revealed how he expects a verbal bashing from those at the top.

“I’m going to get my a** scolded on Monday. Lovely,” the 21-year-old reportedly said. His teammate John Hunter Nemechek, on the other hand, was left utterly confused after he was spun around as he had no idea what had just happened. At the end of the day, all that happened was Smith lost control of his car and hit his teammate Nemechek, which sent the latter spinning, with the big one following shortly after.

“I don’t know, there was a little bit of contact, and next thing I knew I was sideways, so part of it,” Nemechek said as per On3 after being released from the infield care center after the wreck. He seemed to have good speed and had a chance of challenging for the win, but his teammate took that opportunity and made the most of it.

After the race, while the driver of the #81 was unhappy about spinning out his teammate from a good position, nothing was going to take that jubilation of a race win away.

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Joe Gibbs Racing star hails team but stresses on winning more races

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Talking to the media immediately after taking the checkered flag, Chandler Smith stressed that he needed to get more wins under his belt, but he can relax for a bit now. The 21-year-old has cemented his place in the last 16 with the win and with so much of the regular season still left, the #81 team can use this time to test out different strategies and be prepared for when the playoffs arrive.

“What a day. Went from dominating, to wasn’t great, to dominating again, to wasn’t great again. I just lacked a little bit on the [No.] 7. I hate that happened to him. He definitely had that in the bag, so I hate it for his guys and all. I’m so proud of everyone back at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s good to finally get this first one off my back with these guys, so let’s keep racking them up,” the driver of the #81 car said in an interview to Fox Sports.

It will be interesting to see how he runs the rest of the season and if there is any tension between him and Nemechek in future races. Joe Gibbs Racing has gotten off to a decent start this year and they will be looking to keep that momentum up and stay on top of their competitors. But that’s easier said than done.

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