AVONDALE, Ariz. — Christian Eckes and Cole Custer both qualified for the Championship 4 in their respective series, but they didn’t make any new friends along the way.
Last Saturday’s (Nov. 2) NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway wasn’t the first time that Custer and Chandler Smith were at odds with each other — they also traded words after a fierce, late-race battle for the lead saw Custer hit the wall at Kansas Speedway — but Martinsville only served to escalate the feud.
Smith — in a must-win situation — moved Custer out of the way after a hard-fought battle for second in the final stage, but a caution set the stage for a restart where Smith lined up on the outside. Custer proceeded to line up on the outside as well, with the sole intent of sending Smith way out of the groove in the first turn.
Smith finished third and was eliminated from the playoffs, and he took issue with Custer’s move. He threw a punch on pit road before the two got separated post-race, and he was later fined $10,000.
Tempers have boiled over between Chandler Smith & Cole Custer post-race! pic.twitter.com/fx9eHNzSWa
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) November 2, 2024
Notably, Smith has been on record saying that he might be out of a ride entirely next year, so he has less to lose if he decides to race Custer aggressively or enact revenge.
When asked on Thursday’s (Nov. 7) Championship 4 Media Day if he feared retaliation from Smith this weekend, he replied, “I don’t know.”
Even if he’s thinking it, he’s not saying it.
“I am not really thinking about it that way,” Custer said. “At the end of the day, I am going to go run my race and see where we end up and try to maximize the day. You race how you get raced, and you go from there. At the end of the day, I am just going to focus on our weekend.”
As for Eckes, he took his fourth win of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season on Friday (Nov. 1) in dominating fashion by leading 187 of the 200 laps at Martinsville.
But the win wasn’t accomplished with squeaky-clean racing, as he had to run Taylor Gray (who was on fresher tires) way up into the marbles of turn 1 on the final restart. Eckes also moved second-place Ben Rhodes — who had pulled up to the No. 19 truck after the contact with Gray — out of the way in order to preserve the victory.
Notably, Eckes was not in a must-win situation. He was clear to advance to Phoenix on points if he finished second, and his decision to go for the win and move Gray out of the way kept Ty Majeski in the Championship 4.
Gray finished fourth, missing his chance at a first career win and a Championship 4 berth, and he expressed his frustration to Eckes post-race, who was in the middle of victory celebrations on the frontstretch.
Taylor Gray is not happy with Christian Eckes. pic.twitter.com/E8kJxHYa4E
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) November 2, 2024
During the week, Eckes did apologize to a driver for his actions at the end of the race. But that driver was Rhodes, not Gray.
“I talked to Ben, because I felt like he hit me first, for sure,” Eckes explained. “I hit him and then I hit him again. I was disappointed about the second contact, though it wasn’t intentional. I reached out to him because I feel like it was warranted.
“I did not reach out to Taylor because I didn’t think he wanted to hear what I had to say. Same deal, though. I mean, he hit me before that caution came out, and I hit him back maybe a little bit harder than I probably should have. But at the end of the day, I’m happy we won the race and we’re just moving on to Phoenix.”
While Eckes did not provide a direct answer to whether he thought Gray or anyone else from TRICON Garage — a team that’s attempting to win the championship with Corey Heim — would pay him back, Eckes doesn’t expect to see a repeat of the driving standards on display in the final stage of last year’s championship race.
“I don’t think anybody here, especially us four, want to repeat that again because it puts a pretty bad stain on the Truck Series,” Eckes said. “So I don’t anticipate that happening again, and hopefully it doesn’t.”
About the author
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.
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Sorry Christian, but the driving in your series already has a stain attached to it. Just because the championship race is clean doesn’t absolve the drivers from the rest of the season. Last week was another embarrassing race for that series.