In Kevin Magnussen’s first-ever NASCAR race, he made at least one enemy.
After the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado — the first time NASCAR has ever raced on an active military installation — the 33-year-old former Formula 1 driver was confronted by Noah Gragson, a full-timer racer in the Cup Series for Front Row Motorsports.
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Gragson contended that Magnussen wrecked him during the 75-lap race, and the video evidence is difficult to argue with. Magnussen and Gragson raced each other hard in the earlier portions of the race. On the 38th lap, Magnussen hooked Gragson’s right rear quarter panel and sent his No. 4 Ford spinning into the wall off turn 4. Ultimately, the damage knocked Gragson out of the race.
After the race, with time to stew on the incident, Gragson met Magnussen on pit road.
“You wrecked the (expletive) out of me over here,” Gragson told Magnussen after the race. “What the (expletive) is your problem?”
“(Expletive) off. Get out of my face,” Magnussen told Gragson.
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The two drivers went back and forth like this for about 80 seconds, hurling curse words while just inches separated them. A few times, Magnussen wagged his finger in Gragson’s face. No punches were thrown before Gragson was urged to walk away.
Driving the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, Magnussen finished 27th in the race but recorded the fastest lap of the day at 2:12.485. The Danish driver competed in F1 for 10 years, notching four top-five finishes. He has also driven in IMSA SportsCars, winning at Detroit in 2021, and holds the F1 record for most points scored on debut with 18 at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.
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Gragson, a 27-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada, was voted the Most Popular Driver in the Truck Series in 2018 and in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2022. This is his fourth season driving full-time in the Cup Series. He hasn’t won at the top level yet, but has 13 victories in the O’Reilly Series and two in Trucks.
Approached by reporters after his race in San Diego was finished, Gragson offered a criticism of drivers like Magnussen who aren’t accustomed to NASCAR.
“I don’t want to put all of them in this group, but a lot of these open-wheel racers that come race with us… They get fenders on their cars, they get bumpers,” Gragson said. “They’re driving up the inside, barrelling up the inside, pinballing it, blasting our inside doors. I don’t know why that is. The 91 just kept erring off in there, then hit me again and ended our day.”
Magnussen had a different interpretation of what happened on the track with Gragson.
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“He was playing a bit stupid out there. He could have had a good race, but he chose not to,” Magnussen said. “Respect to everyone except that one guy… He ended up where he ended up.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Magnussen, Noah Gragson have heated exchange after NASCAR race on Navy base
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