Race Weekend Central

Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick Tangle After Wild Xfinity Race in Kansas

As Brandon Jones celebrated his first career Xfinity Series win at Kansas Speedway, fireworks were flying on pit road. Once the checkered flag flew, Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick were involved in an altercation that resulted in a cut over Reddick’s eye.

After parking their cars on pit road, Custer walked up and put his hand on Reddick’s shoulder, and it all snowballed from there.

The incident that kicked off the fight? Contact between the two after they restarted side by side with less than 10 laps remaining.

“We went through one and two there and Reddick couldn’t hold his car on the bottom and washed us up into the fence,” Custer explained. “I just wasn’t very happy with it and was just going to tell him that and he went berserk on me. I guess that is part of it. I just wasn’t very happy with it. He just said, ‘Don’t touch me,’ then he started grabbing on me.

“I thought I could just go up and talk to him but he went berserk when I put a hand on him. I wasn’t trying to rough him up. I just put a hand on him.”

For his part, Reddick made it clear he was disappointed and empathized with Custer’s position on it. His irritation was because Custer grabbed his shoulder.

“There was more hands than words before we could really even begin to talk,” Reddick explained. “From there other people were jumping in and you’re just trying to defend yourself.

“If he’s going to put a hand on me, I’m going to gladly put two right back on him as well. I have no problem talking, but before words were even exchanged, there were hands put on people and I’m not going to just sit there and let him grab a hold of me without grabbing him back.”

Custer said he didn’t know yet if he’d try to talk to Reddick again later, while Reddick indicated he wasn’t mad about the incident between the two.

“I’m disappointed in his crew members not letting us just handle it amongst ourselves,” Reddick explained. “Some guys want to take cheap shots; it’s just between me and him and that’s the way it should have been, but obviously it didn’t go that way.”

As for whether this incident will become a problem down the stretch to finish out the year, Reddick indicated he feels like both drivers deserve to be in it at Homestead.

“If we start going after each other at Texas and Phoenix, neither one of us get there,” Reddick explained. “I would like us to get to Homstead and battle for a championship like we both should.”

The Xfinity Series is off next weekend before heading to Texas Motor Speedway for the second race in the Round of 8 on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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KU

When I watched this live and on replay I said to myself this was wrong – “I’m disappointed in his crew members not letting us just handle it amongst ourselves,” Reddick explained. “Some guys want to take cheap shots; it’s just between me and him and that’s the way it should have been, but obviously it didn’t go that way.”

I agree with Reddick here, the crew should protect the diver if they want, but don’t throw cheap shots and the other guy.

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