Kevin Magnussen vs. Noah Gragson NASCAR feud: A lap-by-lap breakdown

Kevin Magnussen got the full NASCAR experience in his Cup Series debut at the San Diego street course, highlighted by a multi-lap showdown with Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson.

And while the on-track slugfest ended with a crash halfway through the race race, that was far from the whole story. NASCAR has compiled over seven minutes worth of onboard video and radio, showcasing every tense on-track moment between Magnussen and Gragson, which ultimately led to the crash and the post-race confrontation. We’ll provide additional context and lap-by-lap breakdown below the footage.

Watch: Full recap of NASCAR clash between Magnussen and Gragson

Gragson radio: After being told that it’s Magnussen in the No. 91 behind him, Gragson replies: “Yeah, f*** him.” This immediately preceded the first notable contact between the two, but they had been battling a little bit before that.

Lap 25 contact: While racing for 33rd place, Magnussen moves to the inside of Gragson, who defends, and Magnussen runs directly into the back of him. They enter the next straightaway side-by-side, and Gragson doors Magnussen, who lifts.

Lap 26 overtake attempt: Magnussen attempts to pass Gragson again under braking into Turn 2, and Gragson again blocks, causing Magnussen to again lift. He continues to show the nose through the next set of corners, with Gragson aggressively defending.

Lap 26 pass and contact: At the end of that same lap, Magnussen finally lunges up the inside of Gragson, clearing him into the final chicane. Gragson then throttles up into the right-rear of Magnussen’s car, retaking the position.

Magnussen radio under Lap 30 caution: “I’m stuck behind this guy. I don’t know who he is. I bumped him, but he turned down in front of me, so he’s not exactly a thinker. I’ll clear him at some point, and then we got some good pace.”

Lap 32 restart contact: Starting side-by-side for a restart, Gragson crowds Magnussen and they slam doors. Moments later, the leaders crash ahead, putting the race back under caution.

Gragson pulls ahead under caution: NASCAR ordered the race be halted for wall repairs after the large accident, which eliminated pre-race favorite Shane van Gisbergen. Just before the field came to a stop, Gragson passed multiple cars and pulled ahead of Magnussen before giving him the middle finger.

Gragson on the radio during red flag: “How’s my back bumper look when the #91 just piledrove me into (Turn) 12?” The team gave Gragson an assessment, and noted that they felt like the contact was ‘coming’ when Magnussen got to Gragson. He replies: “Yeah, all these F1 d****heads just think they get fenders and a f*** bumper and they just drive in the inside and just barrel into everyone. F*** had it.”

Magnussen on the radio during red flag: “Yeah, he’s pretty unhappy, but I mean, what can I do. Gotta get over it at some point.” He later asks about a possible strategy to overtake Gragson in the pits, saying: “I think if we can clear him in the pits, that would be preferred. I think he’s gonna take us out as soon as we get past him. He’s gonna bump us in the next corner.” The team informs Magnussen that even though Gragson stopped in front of him, the running order will put him back ahead for the restart. Magnussen replies: “Okay. Yeah, he’s not letting me past under caution. He just went in front and braked, so yeah, (laughing)…just guide me through it.”

Slamming doors under caution: After the brief stoppage, Gragson continued to poke at Magnussen under caution, bumping into the back of him before they slammed doors. Gragson’s team cautioned him to be smart with the #91 car.

Magnussen radio after contact: The team tells Magnussen that Gragson “is not very smart, as you see,” with Magnussen replying: “Well, he’s got a race to do, so hopefully he’ll get over himself.”

Lap 34 restart heavy contact: In NASCAR, you can choose which lane to restart in, and Gragson chose to start directly behind Magnussen. Going into Turn 3 on the hectic restart that followed, Gragson slammed into the back of Magnussen under braking, knocking him into the cars ahead. The Trackhouse spotter and crew chief began talking to each other about how Gragson “straight up punted him.” They were both running in the mid-20s at this point. Gragson got alongside soon after, dooring Magnussen down the straightaway. Soon after, he slammed into the back of Magnussen again as they filed through a tight right-hander. Magnussen stayed ahead, and finally started to put cars between himself and Gragson.

Lap 37 pass: On Lap 37, Gragson got back ahead of Magnussen as they checked up for a spinning car, both avoiding it without much drama.

Lap 38 crash: Magnussen got back underneath Gragson at the entrance of the sweeping Turn 4 right-hander, and while being crowded again, he appeared to be done with the entire situation and briefly throttled up, slamming into the right-rear of Gragson’s car. Gragson spun and crashed against the outside wall, suffering race-ending damage. They were battling for 15th place at the time.

Gragson on the radio: Severe damage. Front toe link, front damage, steering’s off. #91 just f****** destroyed us.

Gragson wants to return to the race: While back in the garage area, Gragson asked the team if they could return to the race, even with the wounded race car, but officials said no due to the damage he sustained. And while he could have gained a small handful of points, it’s likely that his intentions were more aligned with payback…

Post race confrontation

And then, of course, the now-viral post-race confrontation happened. Gragson waited for Magnussen, and they exchanged heated words for about 90 seconds before going their separate ways. You can watch that entire interaction in full below:

Background details on Gragson and Magnussen

This feud has attracted a lot of attention, and not everyone tuning in knows both of the drivers involved, so we thought we might give a brief backstory on both K-Mag and Noah:

Noah Gragson info: Gragson has nearly 130 starts in NASCAR Cup, and has yet to reach Victory Lane with a best finish of third. He currently competes for Front Row Motorsports, which is his third team since going full-time. His full-time Cup career began with Legacy Motor Club, but that ended mid-season after he was suspended for liking a racially insensitive meme on social media. He then moved on to Stewart-Haas Racing before the team shut down, and has been with FRM since the start of the 2025 season.

He is a proven winner in the lower divisions, with 13 NASCAR O’Reilly victories and two in Trucks, but has never placed higher than 24th in the Cup standings. Gragson is also one of the biggest personalities in the garage. He likes to party, hang out with fans, and yes, he’s had several confrontations with other drivers — including no fewer than three fights. Magnussen’s Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain even punched him after a Cup race in Kansas during the 2023 season.

Kevin Magnussen info: The Danish driver spent a full decade racing in Formula 1, driving for McLaren, Renault, and the Haas F1 team. Notably, he earned a podium finish on debut in the 2014 Australian GP, and secured a pole position for Haas in the weather-impacted 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. His best season result was ninth in the 2018 championship. He was also the first driver to ever face a race ban for accumulating too many penalty points on his Super License, so he’s never been shy about contact — even without fenders. Drive to Survive fans may also remember that time he infuriated Guenther Steiner after smashing a door.

In recent years, Magnussen ventured into the world of sports car racing, where his father Jan has enjoyed immense success. He has competed in both IMSA and WEC, where he is now full-time with the BMW Hypercar team. He just competed in the 94th edition of the Le Mans 24 before coming to San Diego for his NASCAR Cup debut. He is a winner in IMSA, and a podium finisher in WEC. Magnussen also ran one IndyCar race for Arrow McLaren in 2021, finishing 24th at Road America.