KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Playoff competitors Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick were not happy with each other following Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway, leading to a scuffle on pit road immediately after the race.
The pit road confrontation was the result of contact between the two during a restart that cost both men a shot at the victory in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300, a race eventually won by Brandon Jones.
Custer and Reddick lined up first and second for the restart with 10 laps left, with the two battling through turns one and two. Coming out of the second corner Reddick drifted up the track from the bottom, making light contact with Custer’s left-rear quarter panel to force him up into the wall.
Custer dropped back outside the top-10 as a result of the contact while Reddick lost the lead to eventual winner Jones. Reddick was able to recover following one more restart to finish second, while Custer settled for 11th.
After the race Custer and Reddick approached each other on pit road, with Custer placing his right hand on Reddick’s left shoulder first. Reddick responded by putting his right hand on Custer’s left shoulder and within seconds the conversation turned into a melee.
Multiple crew members from both teams dove in to break up the fight between the two, with Custer getting pulled clear of the melee quickly while Reddick continued to swing at members of Custer’s crew before being pulled away by his team.
FIGHT! Tyler Reddick vs. Cole Custer in Kansas. pic.twitter.com/idkTMKRs94
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 19, 2019
Custer explained in the moments after the pit road scuffle that he just wanted to express his displeasure with Reddick, but things took a dramatic turn.
“I was just frustrated he can’t keep his car on the bottom and then runs us up into the wall. If he wants to wreck cars and put them in the wall from time to time that’s fine, but when it affects me I’m not going to be very happy with you,” Custer said.
“I went up to just yell at him, but I put my arm on his shoulder and he went berserk,” Custer added. “I thought we had a good car. I thought we had a shot to win. A lot of things went wrong.”
Reddick said that if Custer was going to place his hand on him, he was going to return the favor.
“I understand Cole’s frustration 100 percent,” Reddick said. “We’re trying to lock ourselves into Homestead and he came up to talk after the race and as soon as he put a hand on me 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, but had a little bit of a fight there with some people. Was a little bit of fun.”
Despite the post-race melee, Reddick was still complimentary of Custer.
“I think a lot of Cole and his driving ability and a lot of that team,” Reddick said. “Just heat of the moment. We’re pissed off. I’m sure we’ll talk about it soon. Maybe today, tomorrow. Who knows, maybe we’ll have a beer over it.
“Obviously (I) didn’t want to get in his quarter panel, but if I lift I get passed.”