Kevin Magnussen tells Noah Gragson to "f*** off" in tense NASCAR confrontation

Kevin Magnussen had an eventful NASCAR Cup debut on Sunday, starting 21st and running inside the top 20 for a good portion of the event. He even snagged the bonus point for the fastest lap near the very end of the race.

Magnussen finished 27th in the 39-car field, after staying out late on old tires, saving a fresh set for a caution that never came.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for K-Mag either, as he also had a mid-race spin, and some run-ins with Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson.

Earlier contact with Gragson and crash

These two first got into it on Lap 25, with Magnussen braking later than Gragson and slamming into the back of them. The two drivers then banged doors on the straight, and Gragson aggressively blocked as they battled it out for 32nd place. This battle went on for several laps, with Gragson moving Magnussen in the final chicane at one point.

“I’m stuck behind this guy. I don’t know who he is,” radioed Magnussen under a caution that followed soon after.

Later in the race, they found each other once again. Gragson got ahead of Magnussen as they tried to avoid a spinning Tyler Reddick. With just a couple of laps to go in Stage 2 and 37 still go in the entire race, Magnussen was right behind Gragson and battling for 15th place on track.

Magnussen got underneath Gragson on the run into the sweeping right-hander known as Turn 4, and made contact with the No. 4 Ford. Gragson spun and slammed the wall, suffering race-ending damage. It appeared that the No. 91 Trackhouse Chevrolet wasn’t keen to give Gragson any breaks after their earlier run-in, and even briefly throttled up in the moment just before hitting Gragson’s right-rear. Magnussen continued on, unaffected by the incident other than losing a spot to Chase Elliott while checking up.

Gragson confronts Magnussen

Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford; Kevin Magnussen, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

After the race, Gragson — now wearing street clothes — was waiting for Magnussen on pit road. He confronted the Danish driver, and there was a heated exchange that lasted about 90 seconds.

Frontstretch.com’s Dalton Hopkins caught the entire interaction on video.

“What’s your f****** problem,” said Gragson at one point. “You guys come over here, you f****** drive off into the corner, just because you got fenders on it.”

“Get the f*** out of my face,” Magnussen said in response. He then repeatedly told Gragson to “f*** off” and to “get out of my face.”

Gragson continued to press the issue, saying: “Or what, what are you gonna do?” He repeatedly asked Magnussen what his problem was, and the ex-F1 driver ultimately replied: “My problem is you in my face.”

But Gragson refused to let it go, and continued to argue with Magnussen, who came back with: “You don’t understand English, or what? I’m saying f*** off.”

Nothing productive was said during the exchange, and they went their separate ways at the urging of a PR rep.

Notably, this is the not the first time Gragson got into the face of a Trackhouse Racing driver. At Kansas Speedway during the 2023 Cup season, he clashed with Ross Chastain, and confronted him after the race. Chastain did not show the same restraint as Magnussen, and actually punched Gragson in the face after warning him to back off.

Gragson has also had several other confrontations, and even fights throughout his NASCAR career, throwing punches in past incidents with Daniel Hemric and Harrison Burton while racing in the lower divisions.

Kevin Magnussen, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet; Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Read the full article here

What's Hot

Kevin Magnussen tells Noah Gragson to “f*** off” in tense NASCAR confrontation

Earlier contact with Gragson and crash

Gragson confronts Magnussen

Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford; Kevin Magnussen, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Kevin Magnussen, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet; Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

Photos from San Diego – Sunday

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

U.S. Navy service members

U.S. Navy service members

Fans

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing

Pitlane during a caution flag

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

General view

Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing

Joey Logano, Team Penske

General view

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

Ryan Preece, RFK Racing

General view

Chris Buescher, RFK Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing, Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing

General view

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing, Crew chief Robert “Bootie” Barker

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Corey Heim, 23XI Racing

Keep Reading