Custer gets Xfinity title shot, makes enemies at Martinsville

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November 2, 2024, 7:39 PM ET
2 min read

Aric Almirola won the Xfinity Series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, a victory that gave Cole Custer a chance to defend his NASCAR championship.

Almirola is running a part-time schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing so he wasn't playoff eligible. AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill had already qualified for the playoffs, so there were two open slots for six drivers.

The win by Almirola, his third of the season, allowed the final two slots in the championship race to be decided on points. Almirola, over a final 16-lap sprint to the finish, had to hold off both Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith, either of whom would have made next Saturday's title-decider at Phoenix Raceway with a win at Martinsville.

Instead, the spots went to Custer, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, who finished fourth, and Justin Allgaier, who finished fifth.

Chandler Smith and Custer had battled for position late in the race in a way that infuriated Smith and caused him to confront Custer after. The heated confrontation led to Smith throwing a punch at Custer.

Custer said the two have been feuding much of the season, while Smith intimated he'll race Custer hard next Saturday.

It wasn't Custer's only dust-up of the race: Custer tangled early with Allmendinger and it ended with Allmendinger crashed.

The two were racing just 12 laps into the race and Custer was trying to get past Allmendinger. Custer gave him a shove that wiggled him out of line. Allmendinger then tried to force his way back to the bottom of the track. He ended up crashing.

"I had to go, he wasn't going to take it, took himself out," Custer said on the radio.

Allmendinger, like Chandler Smith, seemed displeased with Custer.

"Can't wait to get to Phoenix," was Allmendinger's terse response to the incident.

And, when told that Custer had said Allmendinger wrecked himself, Allmendinger again deflected.

"We're going to go win a championship, so that's the mindset," Allmendinger said. "It's all good."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.