WATCH: Zane Smith and Michael McDowell get into a verbal spat after tense moment at Watkins Glen

Michael McDowell and Zane Smith got into a round of hit-and-runs for a top-5 during the final overtime restart at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, 15 September. Smith bagged the top-5, while McDowell finished 7th.

Things started getting sour between drivers as the field took the white flag. Smith moved McDowell's No. 34 Front Row Motorsports machine first, trying to pass the latter from the inside. McDowell retaliated soon, pushing the Spire Motorsports driver into turn 1.

While Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar battled for P3, Smith returned the favor by shoving McDowell up the track again. McDowell and Smith were running 5th and 6th, respectively, back then. After the race, the duo confronted each other and got involved in what looked like a verbal spar.

Here is the footage of the incident:

Both drivers are not in the 2024 playoffs. However, McDowell sits 23rd in the Cup Series standings, 135 points ahead of Smith, who sits 33rd with 378 points to his name.

According to reports, Spire Motorsports purchased a charter worth $40 million from Live Fast Motorsports to keep Smith's No. 71 car running full-time alongside the No. 7 and the No. 77 entries. However, McDowell is expected to replace Smith behind the wheel of the No. 71 car in 2025. Travis Peterson, McDowell's crew chief at Front Row Motorsports, will also join the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team next season.

Smith's teammate Carson Hocevar, who is also a Cup Series rookie, will remain the wheelman of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports machine. As of now, there is no news on which team could be a potential landing spot for Zane Smith.

Zane Smith's wife shared a heartfelt note amid Spire Motorsports' special Watkins Glen outing

It was indeed a special day for the entire Spire Motorsports Cup Series roster as all three drivers delivered top-10 performances. While Hocevar recorded his season-best, third-place finish, Corey Lajoie ended up 8th in the 90-lap race.

Zane Smith's wife, McCall Smith, lauded her husband's top-5 finish at 'The Glen'. In a recent post on X, McCall wrote,

"P5!!! Great weekend for Zane and his 71 team. Overcame a speeding penalty, didn’t give up and drove up through the field. So proud. 🩵"

However, Smith took it out on himself as he recalled the speeding penalty.

"I was just under a tremendous amount of pressure, and I was just trying to execute everything," Smith said, via Autoweek. "We were able to keep getting positions on those restarts. Just got roughed up there at the end, but, fortunately, I was able to gain a few stops back."

The drivers will now prepare for next week's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 500-lap showdown will start at 7 pm ET on 21 September and stream live on NBC Sports and USA. Radio updates will be available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.