NASCAR Xfinity title rivals in post-race fight at Kansas
NASCAR Xfinity Series title contenders Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick ended up in a scuffle after Saturday's race at Kansas Speedway
Reigning champion Reddick - who has already secured a Richard Childress Racing Cup Series seat for 2020 - and Custer made slight contact after a late-race restart, sending Stewart-Haas racer Custer into the outside wall.
Reddick would go to finish second to race winner Brandon Jones while Custer was forced to settle for 11th.
Afterwards, Custer went over to Reddick to have a discussion and the two began shoving one another.
Crew members got involved and eventually pulled the two drivers apart.
"I was just frustrated that he couldn't keep his car on the bottom and then runs us up into the wall," Custer explained to NBC Sports.
"If he wants to wreck cars and put them in the wall, that's fine, but when it affects me, I'm not going to be very happy with him.
"I just went over to talk to him and he put my hand on him, and he just went berserk.
"I thought we had a good car and a shot to win."
Reddick said he understood Custer's frustration at his result and shrugged off the scuffle.
"I understand Cole's frustration, 100%," said Reddick.
"We're trying to lock ourselves into Homestead [the title decider], and he came up to talk after the race and he put a hand on me, so I put a hand on him back.
"That's just how it's going to be if we're going to have a conversation that way.
"I'm out of breath. Had a fight there with some people and it was a little bit of fun.
"Not the end of the race I was looking for.
"I think a lot of Cole and his driving ability. Just heat of the moment, we're pissed off. I'm sure we'll talk about it here soon, maybe have a beer over it."
Kansas was the first event of the three-race 'round of eight' stage of the Xfinity Series' title playoffs before the four-person title shootout at Homestead.
Custer and Reddick are currently second and third in the championship standings behind Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, who was only 12th at Kansas after a collision with Chase Briscoe and backmarker Garrett Smithley.
Like Reddick, Bell already has a 2020 Cup seat secured - in his case with the JGR-affiliated Leavine Family team.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr gets 2020 NASCAR Cup Series lifeline with JTG
Kansas NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins, late crashes cause playoff drama
Why Vasseur isn't wielding the axe on Ferrari's F1 strategy team
As Ferrari reflected on the lost opportunities of the 2022 Formula 1 season, it did not take a genius to understand that strategy had been one of its core weaknesses.
Winward Mercedes replaces injured Auer with Morad for Daytona 24
Lucas Auer will sit out the Daytona 24 Hours after suffering back injuries in practice and will be replaced by GT4 racer Daniel Morad at Winward Mercedes.
The big question concerning IMSA's new LMDh cars on their debut
The new LMDh era finally begins in earnest this weekend with the IMSA SportsCar Championship curtain-raiser at Daytona. The prospect of multiple marques going all guns blazing for victory over 24 hours is a salivating one for fans of sportscar racing, but what are the chances of the new hybrid machines (known as GTP cars Stateside) proving reliable enough to win on debut?
WRC developing experimental propulsion class
The World Rally Championship is developing a new demonstration class that will allow manufacturers and teams to develop and experiment with alternative propulsion methods.
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.