If there’s one thing stock car racing fans love almost as much as fast cars, it’s a good old-fashioned driver punch-up. NASCAR’s history is full of legendary fistfights—like when Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers turned the 1979 Daytona 500 into a full-contact sport, or Clint Bowyer’s infamous post-race sprint at Ryan Newman. Drivers don’t always settle scores with their wheels; sometimes, they use their fists. Dakota Smith added his name to that list on Friday night during the Gateway Dirt Nationals, delivering a moment that had everyone—from fans to fellow racers—rolling around on the ground.

It wasn’t just the crash that caught attention; it was what happened after. Smith’s on-track meltdown turned into a viral moment, and Xfinity star Ryan Ellis couldn’t resist chiming in with a joke that made the whole ordeal even more hilarious.

Dakota Smith loses his cool in the heat of the battle

The chaos started in the second B-Main of the late model division. With only three transfer spots to the main event up for grabs, Smith and Dean Carpenter were locked in a fierce battle for third place. Things were already heated, but with four laps to go, it boiled over. Carpenter ran Smith wide, forcing him to lift, but Smith wasn’t backing down. They rubbed doors through the next corner, and it didn’t take long for things to escalate. One bump too many sent Smith bouncing into the outside wall before ricocheting back across the track, where other cars piled into him. His car was totaled. Carpenter kept driving; Smith wasn’t having it.

What happened next became the night’s defining moment. Smith leaped out of his wrecked car and sprinted across the track, weaving through other drivers and officials. He made a beeline for Carpenter, who was still sitting in his car under the red flag. Smith stuck his hands through the window, appearing to try to pull Carpenter’s helmet off. Officials quickly intervened, dragging Smith away before things got even more physical. Carpenter, unbothered (maybe slightly bothered), responded by flipping Smith the bird from inside the car.

As fans replayed the footage of Smith’s confrontation, Xfinity driver Ryan Ellis jumped in with a tweet that caused a hearty chuckle. Ellis wrote: “Nice little tickle fight for your Friday night entertainment.” The post that Ellis replied to had another banger of a caption: “Haven’t seen someone use that much energy and do such little damage since Bowyer went after Newman”. 

The Bowyer-Newman incident goes back to the 2019 NASCAR All-Star race. Back then Clint Bowyer drove the #14 of Stewart-Haas Racing, fighting Kyle Busch for the race win after qualifying on pole. Ryan Newman, on the other hand, started in 6th position. During the race, Newman cut across Newman’s car on a cooldown lap. With both drivers inside the pit road, Bowyer did something similar to Smith, raining punches on Newman who was still in his car. Although neither driver received a penalty, NASCAR clamped down on the incident, warning drivers that similar behavior would see serious repercussions.

When a reporter caught up with Smith moments later, he didn’t hold back. “You just got idiots driving in over their head, just being stupid,” Smith fumed. “Wasn’t no sense in it.”

Has Ryan Ellis been involved in a similar incident?

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Ellis is no stranger to conflict—or handling it differently. Back in 2023, he found himself in a similar situation after tangling with Joe Graf Jr. during a NASCAR Xfinity race at Martinsville. Instead of throwing punches, Ellis approached Graf for a calm post-race chat, a moment he later shared on social media as an example of how drivers can settle disputes without drama.

As fans may remember, Ellis and Graf came together during the late stages of the Martinsville race in Turn 1. Ellis quickly approached Graf, giving him his perspective of the story. Later on, the drivers went on to the side to privately discuss what happened. One thing to note about the confrontation was that there were no punches exchanged, just a simple demand for an explanation. Ellis casually stood next to Graf as the discussion died down.

For Dakota Smith, justified or not, the fallout from the Gateway Dirt Nationals shifted from a genuinely upset driver, a ruined race, and a wrecked car to memes and a complete mockery of his outburst.