As they usually do, tempers boiled over at Martinsville Speedway during the Xfinity Series race on November 2nd, 2024. A postrace altercation involved NASCAR Ford driver Cole Custer and a Toyota competitor, Chandler Smith, stemming from on-track contact while the two were racing for position.
A report from NASCAR.com chronicled the rivalry, which has been an ongoing story throughout the 2024 racing season. They rubbed doors at Kansas earlier in the season, but the frustration was just too much to handle at Martinsville this weekend.
Custer’s No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse took the green alongside the No. 81 Toyota TRD Supra of Smith on the front row with 29 laps left on the board. Smith was in a must-win situation to make the Xfinity Series Championship 4 and delivered a shot to the rear bumper of Custer’s race car earlier in the race, and the late-race restart gave Custer the perfect opportunity to fire back.
Custer moved Smith out of the way entering Turn 1, completing the pass. While Aric Almirola’s No. 20 Supra went on to win, Custer actually finished behind Smith, but their scuffle prevented Smith from winning and advancing to the championship. The frustrated Smith approached Custer on Pit Road after the race, exchanging heated words before smacking Custer in the face and walking away.
“Obviously he’s not happy but at the end of the day, he’s put us in the wall a few times this year and his mistakes caught up with him,” Custer said. “He used the bumper on me. I used the bumper on him. So what comes around goes around in this deal. I don’t know how we’re not even. Then, he punches me in the face. I can’t even tell if he really punched me in the face, it was so soft.”
Smith admitted that he was looking for revenge, saying, “I was planning to do more than that. I was extremely pissed off. I gave him five laps before that caution came out and beat his bumper off and never shipped him or anything like that.”
Comment
It was OK for Smith to jam Custer in the rear earlier in the race, but when Custer does what Smith tried to do, Smith comes unglued! Smith seems it’s OK what he did, but when it’s done to him, he thinks no one should do what he does! Poor sportsmanship on the behalf of Smith! Because if Smith can’t take what he dishes out, then he should NOT do what he does to others, or maybe find another line of work!