Controversy has surrounded the Sonoma Raceway this week e♔ven though NASCℱAR is not scheduled to visit the Californian circuit until the start of June.

Sonoma Raceway was repaved back in February of this year. However, ꧅reports have already started to come out that portions of the repaved surface have already started to come apart.

So🔜noma Raceway is owned by Speedway Motorsports, the same company that owns ten circuits that the NASCAR Cup Series uses.

Just before racing began this weeke🍷nd at Martinsville Speedway the chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports, Marcus Smith, and NASCAR Cup Series driver, Denny Hamlin got into a social media argument over the resurfacing of Sonoma.

Talking about the reports out🍸 of Sonoma Raceway Hamlin said on X: “When paving on a budget goes wrong. North Wilkesboro will be next.”

Smith then responded to the comments made by Hamlin about the 🐻situation🅰 by saying: “This is a great post from somebody who doesn’t know all the information. Ignorance on display for the world to see!”

Hamlin would not let the 🌠matter rest there and continued by referencing Speedway Motorsports reconfiguration rec🌄ord.

The social media discussion then turned personal as Smith came back at Hamlin with comments about his racing career: “Yes we take risks. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. We’ve seen your attempts of the championship as well. When you have a chance, maybe you could give m﷽e some golf tips.”

Hamlin continued to escalate the situation and mentioned Smiths' late father and former CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Ollen Bru⛦ton Smith: “Here’s your tip. Let someone else run your business before you blow everything your dad gave you.”

After taking another jab at Hamlin not having a Cup title by callin𒁏g him an “almost NASCAR Champion” Smith decided to delete his posts on X about the matter and said: “I shouldn’t let social media conversa𓄧tions get personal, so I deleted those posts.”

Hamlin later took responsibility for his side of the social media argument by sayin🧸g: “I’ll definitely take responsibility for my part in it. It got more personal than it should have for sure.”

Hamlin has also described how the social media back and forth had underlying tension due to NASCAR teams seeking more money 🌼to stay in the sport as they only receive 25% of the media rights money, whereas tracks receive 65% and NASCAR themselves only 10%.

“Certainly, there ಌwas some underlying frustration from my standpoint that I l📖et get the better of me,” Hamlin told the media.

“No doubt about it. Certainly, didn’t need to get per🅷sonal, but it kind of took a turn for that pre🎉tty quick. So certainly, regrettable from my standpoint.

“Between the tracks and NASCAR, th🐷ere’s nearly half a billion dollars in profit and I hate to see that teams are struggling, swimming upstream. It’s tough because we’re in a fight. It’s not pretty, not going to be pretty. There’s some underlying frustration there that I kind of let go out at the wrong way.”