Chandler Smith shares his point of view of his fierce battle with Cole Custer in the closing laps of the Round of 12 opener.
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00:00And Chandler Smith led 114 laps in the end.
00:04Not quite enough.
00:05Used up your car on that longer run.
00:06But the bigger story here, Cole Custer being upset with you.
00:10You guys had a conversation.
00:12Do you feel like he was warranted in how he felt?
00:16I definitely understand his position.
00:18Last week I was racing behind somebody for 80 laps and couldn't find a way around him
00:22because we were running the same lane.
00:24So obviously our car was really dominant on the short run.
00:27We had a really fast No. 81 quick side product, GR Supra, on the short run.
00:32And it was as fast as expanding the Internet.
00:34But after lap 25 into a run, definitely the 20 and the double zero was a little bit better.
00:39I just struggled with front turn on throttle.
00:42They could squirt throttle and be able to rip the fence better than I could, and I couldn't
00:45really do it.
00:46It would just go into a four-wheel slide.
00:47So I was able to build up a little bit of a gap and had to come up with a game plan
00:50of when he gets to me, what do I got to do?
00:53Because last time I just kept running my lane, he just blew my doors off.
00:58So this is for the race win.
00:59This is for advancing to the next round.
01:02And this is also the guy I'm racing for for the championship.
01:04So I've got to be a little more aggressive in a sense of just taking his air away, kind
01:08of cup racing, truck racing style.
01:10I moved up and did that and did it for a very long time.
01:13There was quite a few times he got really, really close.
01:16I could feel the air in the car and also on the right rear spoiler.
01:21Right when he would get to me, you could feel it.
01:23Every time I kind of felt that, I would glance up and see where he's at.
01:25He was super close, but I never felt like he was there, there enough to where I would
01:30give a whole lane.
01:31Because if I do give a whole lane and he gets my right recorder, he's going to blow past
01:34me.
01:35So just trying to do the best for my team.
01:38We've been on a really good stretch of races here recently, and this is a good momentum
01:42builder for us.
01:43I need to go back and watch the replay, because by all means, if he did get all the way to
01:47my right rear and could have right reared me and lifted for me, I need to apologize
01:50because that's not fun.
01:51I've been in those shoes.
01:53But I felt like not seeing an interview or anything, that never happened.
01:57He got close, but he never got there.
01:59So we're racing for the win.
02:00We're racing for a position in the next one and five extra playoff points for when it
02:04resets.
02:05So he's got a very, very valid statement, I understand.
02:09But I also wouldn't change what I did, because I was giving myself the best shot to win.