Jeb Burton tries to fight Chandler Smith on pit road, crew member gets dragged away in headlock
Tensions were high at the end of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, leading to Jeb Burton attempting to fight Chandler Smith on pit row. The pair of drivers got into it during the final lap of the Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway — with Burton claiming Smith tried wrecking him twice in the final lap before succeeding.
On the radio, Burton threatened that he was going to give Smith a “broke f—ing nose” for his actions on the track. Making good on his promise, Burton did approach Smith after the race on pit row and crew members had to separate them. Video appeared to show a crew member attempting to put Burton in a headlock while other people worked to split them up, with another crew member eventually pulling the one on Burton away by the neck as well.
Jeb Burton and Chandler Smith get into altercation
Cooler heads ultimately prevailed, with both sides walking away in anger and some vulgar words being tossed around. The moment was a perfect chance to highlight how much fans have access to the on-track frustrations of drivers however, with radio audio setting up the whole event before it transpired.
“He tried wrecking me in the final corner, he tried wrecking me in turn 1, then he finally wrecked me in turn 4. He’s going to get a broke f—ing nose after this race. Daddy’s not gonna be able to help him in a bit,” said Burton before their confrontation.
The relationship between the two drivers has been publicly not the best, with Smith previously commenting that Burton wasn’t “the sharpest tool in the shed” after racing at Talladega over a month ago. While Smith was criticizing the outcome of the race with time spent under caution and wrecks that plagued that race, he was asked about his frustration with Burton specifically — leading to his outburst.