Martinsville playoff weekends are known for the high-voltage racing action. However, with multiple drivers having their backs against the wall to make the final 4, we see more than just aggressive racing. It all started with Taylor Gray and Christian Eckes’ heated post-race altercation after the Truck Series race. Chandler Smith from Joe Gibbs Racing followed suit.

The JGR driver was in a must-win situation, racing desperately to make up the final few spots in the Championship 4. He was within touching distance, running inside the top 10, but things changed on the late race restart with 29 to go in the race. Cole Custer lined up behind the No. 81 of Chandler Smith. Earlier in the race, Smith moved Custer out of his position battling for the second spot, and the SHR driver returned the favor.

And just like that, Chandler Smith’s chances to make the playoffs were up in smoke. Aric Almirola would go on to win the race, and Custer did his job, finishing P4 and making it to the final four on points alongside Justin Allgaier. Meanwhile, Smith was fuming because of the way he raced in the late restart and confronted Custer after the race.

But the heated war of words soon turned violent as the JGR driver threw a punch at Custer. Soon, the two crews of both teams intervened and could separate the two before things escalated even more. Fans were thrilled to see Smith losing his cool in what was a race-related incident. And even media personnel have joined in to call out the JGR driver’s immature actions.

“If Chandler Smith being pi–y at the end of a race was a drinking game, I’d be in AA.” Pete Pistone from MRN Network posted this on X. The two had previously faced off in the opening playoff race at Kansas in September where Custer said Smith put him in the wall off Turn 4 as the two were fighting for the checkered flag. Coincidentally, it was Almirola who won the race on that occasion as well. Back then, the two were relatively cordial when they exchanged their frustrations.

As things went south this time, Custer said, “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. 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.” Custer admitted that the previous run-in was on his mind if the two found each other Saturday. “Yeah, you don’t forget,” he said. But what Smith had to say about the entire saga?

Smith defended his racing earlier in the run and said that he had intentions to confront and get physical. “I was planning to do more than that. I was extremely p****d off. I gave him five laps before that caution came out and beat his bumper off and never shipped him or anything like that.”

Then finally, it’s like, alright, the laps are winding down. I’m in a must-win. The 20’s [Almirola] starting to drive away. He was really good all day. I can’t waste any more time with him. So I finally had a good enough run and pushed him up the racetrack and went on our way,” Smith said after the incident. He also stated that he was clueless why Custer took the top from third place when it was time for drivers to pick their lanes ahead of the restart.

“I think he was the first guy all day that chose the outside lane from third place, so that’s very interesting. And then he didn’t even give me a chance to make the corner when we got to Turn 1. I thought it was a little bit of a chicken-[expletive] move, honestly. Funny enough, the restart right after that, picks right behind me again … how ironic is that?” Smith said.

If we turn our eyes to the tracks, Custer was the last driver to make the Championship 4 by 28 points over his rival. He will set his eyes on becoming the first driver to win back-to-back Xfinity titles since Tyler Reddick (2018, 2019). After that, Custer will be back to full-time Cup Series racing under Haas Factory Team in 2025.

On the other hand, Smith’s situation lack clarity at the moment. The 22-year-old Georgia native still does not have a ride for 2025 and is disappointed about not securing a berth into the Championship 4 after racking up two wins and 21 top 10s heading into Saturday’s season finale in the Arizona desert.

“I’m very passionate about this. I love this group. This group deserves to be in Phoenix and deserves to go out and contend for a championship. We’ve had a hell of a year. Not being able to go to the final four is definitely a kick in the gut for us because I feel like this team could go out and win that championship. We’re going to go to Phoenix and we’re going to go try to kick their (expletive) there,” Smith said. Howsoever passionate Smith is, at the moment, the fans are only talking about his actions at the racetrack.

Chandler Smith needs to keep his emotions in check

Cole Custer vs. Chandler Smith in a boxing ring wouldn’t exactly be a fair fight. The SHR driver has a clear advantage if there is a fair fight. But instead, Smith chose to throw in a sneaky punch, which Custer defended. Imagine if Cole Custer was successful in landing his punch at Smith; even the imagination of that scenario tells you that the JGR driver would be on the receiving end of the stick. Sharing a similar sentiment, this fan via Reddit wrote, “He’s lucky Cole didn’t lay hands on him, has to have 50 pounds on Smith.”

At Kansas, Smith was the one who forced the issue on Custer late in the race to grab the lead. The #00 even had to pull out of gas to avoid a wreck, but this dogfight opened the door for Aric Almirola, who stole the win in the final 3 laps. “He’s gonna pay the consequences for that,” were Custer’s words after the Kansas race, and that’s exactly what he got.

Now this was a clear case of Smith being unable to take the same treatment that he dished out previously. Reacting to these double standards, a fan wrote, “A+ comment, it’s true too. Chandler acts like a whiny baby a lot. The epitome of “can dish it out but can’t take it back.”

On the other hand, this race fan shared an interesting perspective on why Chandler Smith was mad at Custer after the race. “Most likely he’s envious of Custer. Chandler is mad; he did his job to an outstanding level this year, and has zilch lined up next year because of young kids with money, connections, & some talent, sucks for Chandler but I can see why he’s so angry.”

It has to be noted that JGR has announced three new drivers for the 2025 season. William Sawalich, Taylor Gray, and Bran Jones will be joining the driver’s lineup. Meanwhile, there’s no clear indication whether Smith will retain his place in the team. His actions at Martinsville are perhaps the reason why JGR looks to replace him next year. This is what this race fan believed: “Wonder why he doesn’t have a ride next year?”

The race was indeed a hard watch, with multiple cautions breaking the flow of the race. And the big upset was that Aric Almirola, a part-timer, snatched away a win. This isn’t exactly how fans want a clutch race to end, but the brawl post-race certainly stood out and shadowed the mediocre racing experience. “This is literally fuel/talking points for your show. What else will yall pull from this race? For a cutoff race, it was a dud. Just like his punch. 😀”

Was Chandler Smith’s outburst of emotions justified after the race at Martinsville? Do let us know your thoughts on this heated confrontation in the comments section.