After an incident between Jake Crum and Burt Myers during the SMART Modified Tour “Mod Squad Nationals” at Wake County Speedway, the Tour has fined Jake Crum and placed him on probation. An official statement from the SMART Modified Tour reads:
Driver Jake Crum was fined $1,000 and placed on probation until August 7, 2026 for Actions Detrimental to Racing at Wake County Speedway on April 24, 2026.
SMART Modified Tour Director Chris Williams explained the decision of the fine and probation.
“Hard, aggressive racing is the heartbeat of the SMART Modified Tour, and it is one of the reasons this series has grown into a fan favorite,” said Chris Williams, Series Director. “We want our drivers racing each other hard — that’s the product our fans show up for. But, there is a clear line between racing hard and putting other competitors, officials, and fans at risk. Retaliation and driving into another car under caution is well past that line, and it will not be tolerated. These penalties reflect our ongoing commitment to protecting everyone involved, while preserving the competitive spirit that defines this series.”
During the 99-lap event, contact between Crum’s no. 1jc and Myers’ no.1 Modified resulted in Crum spinning into the turn three and four wall. Under that caution period, Crum pulled his car in front of Myers and then made contact, bumper to bumper, on the inside groove of the racing surface.
The crowd erupted, as two of the most aggressive and polarizing drivers on the Tour went head to head. Myers animately motioned his hands in the car to tell Crum that he had come down on him to cause the incident. Crum’s car was unable to continue. Despite the emotion of the moment, Crum spoke to FloRacing to make his thoughts known.
“I thought I gave him plenty of room,” said Crum in his trailer after the tangle. “When he got into me it felt like he kept in the gas until we were all the way in the fence. Bowman Gray started last week and I guess he still has that on his mind for tonight. Coming soon he might have to deal with me over there too.”
“When I got down there he turned down so hard on my right front it knocked the wheel out of my hands and knocked me down on the flat,” Myers explained in a post-race interview. “He spun himself out. If you’re not a Burt Myers fan I’m sure you saw it different. Me passing him wasn’t going to end his night. Take the pass. Get back in line and then battle later. But he just tried to make a hole twice and spun himself out.
“I ain’t got a problem with Jake. We talked after him and Slate had a problem (referring to a crash between his son Slate Myers and Crum at Dominion Raceway). We talked and I don’t have a problem with Jake. I like Jake. But for him to run over me under caution, and I’m pointing at him telling him ‘dude, you did it’ and he just spun himself out. I hate it for both of us because it cost us too.”
Crum didn’t see it that way.
“Of course it’s never their fault. It wasn’t Slate’s fault at Dominion. When he (Slate) bounced off the wall, I ran him in the fence. It’s never their fault. It’s fine. If they want me to be their villain, I will be. Except, they’re going to get what a villain does.”
The SMART Modified Tour takes a few week break before it heads to Franklin County Speedway in Callaway, Virginia on May 29 for the sixth running of the Kenny Minter Classic. The 110-lap Friday race will be broadcast live on FloRacing.