Chandler Smith throws punches at Cole Custer after Martinsville Xfinity Series race

We have fists flying at Martinsville! Chandler Smith said he was going to start a fight after the race and Cole Custer found out. These two NASCAR drivers have no love lost between them after today.

Chandler Smith and Cole Custer traded paint. Smith put the bumper to Custer to get position and pass. Then Custer sent Smith up the track late. It was a back-and-forth that ended up hurting both, ultimately.

Smith was furious after the race. As he was yelling at Custer, Smith then decided to throw a punch. Custer walked away smiling, though. Even if Aric Almirola won the race, Custer is going to Phoenix to race for a championship.

Tempers have boiled over between Chandler Smith & Cole Custer post-race! pic.twitter.com/fx9eHNzSWa

— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) November 2, 2024

Now, the punch may have not been the most amazing thing ever, but it is action. Martinsville brings out the physical altercations on the track and on pit road afterward. That’s just short-track racing, though, right?

Cole Custer is going to the Championship 4 in the driver’s championship. He will have a chance to repeat. However, his team missed it on the owner’s championship. Which is why Custer was racing so hard at the end of the race. It was about more than himself.

So, what did Custer think about the punch?

Cole Custer laughs off Chandler Smith’s punch

After the punch, Cole Custer was interviewed. He stayed on message at first.

“What comes around goes around in this deal,” Custer said. “I’m so proud of this team and we brought out everything we had today. Kept us in the fight, you know. … Just can’t thank Gene Haas, everybody at Haas Automation, Ford Performance. Can’t wait to go to Phoenix now and see what we can do.”

But the Stewart-Haas Racing driver couldn’t help but throw a dig at Smith. He wasn’t all that impressed with the hit from his rival.

“I mean it is what it is. I think at the end of the day, you know, he put us in the wall a few times this year,” Custer continued. “He kept us from winning a race I feel like at Kansas, and he used the bumper on me, I used the bumper on him. 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. But at the end of the day, we’ll go on to Phoenix.”

We saw things get heated in the Truck Series race on Friday night. However, that incident didn’t end in a punch. Chandler Smith decided to swing and for one reason or another, Cole Custer was not interested in getting into it with him.