NASCAR is looking into the possibility of additional punitive action against Conner Jones for what appeared to be an intentional crash on Saturday in the Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that left Matt Mills hospitalized for two nights.
Mills was treated for smoke inhalation and released on Monday morning.
The incident occurred on lap 77 of the race on Saturday and transpired when Jones drove hard into Turn 1 until Mills spun into the wall as a result. Jones went into an expletive laden tired about how Mills had blocked him one too many times over the course of the season. They were racing for 19th at the time.
Jones was held on pit road two laps for aggressive driving, a decision race control has held utilized increasingly over the past two seasons. He did not speak after the race but did issue a statement in the hours that followed.
NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran said the competition department will further look into the incident on Tuesday.
“Well first of all, we’re glad to hear that Matt Mills is out of the hospital and doing well,” Moran said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “That is the most important thing. As we know, the Truck Series is a development series and we want our drivers coming through there to race on Sunday.
“As you saw on Sunday, our drivers did not run over each other and we need to prevent that from happening in the lower divisions. I think there have been some discussions earlier in the season with Conner Jones and unfortunately, what happened on Saturday was not acceptable.
“The radio communication was not acceptable and the race director made that decision, which is well within the rule book, but we’re going to go back and look at it as well today to see if any futher action needs to be taken.
“Certainly, probably a mistake young drivers make and so on, but we can’t have it. It was over the line, there is a line there, and that crossed it.”
Jones is scheduled to race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway in the same Thorsport Motorsports No. 66 truck.