There has often been an assumed cold air between NASCAR and F1 drivers, so when they come together on the same track, it can get a bit heated. This was proven in San Diego when Kevin Magnussen made his NASCAR Cup Series debut. 

While the Danish former F1 driver took up the responsibilities of the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, he knew that it was going to be a tough race. What he probably didn’t expect was to get into an unending tussle and a heated post-race confrontation with Front Row Motorsport driver Noah Gragson.

FOX IndyCar broadcaster Will Buxton addressed the viral confrontation while in conversation with Kevin Harvick on their "Speed" podcast. Taking Magnussen's side, Buxton said:

"I’m not going to pull punches. He (Gragson) was driving like a d***. He was literally at points, he’s brake checking him, he's slowing up, he’s weaving around the place. Like, dude, just get over it. Race your race and try and pull something out of this because you’re messing with the wrong guy. Like Kevin doesn’t give a d*** who Gragson is.”

The on-track battle started when Magnussen drove into the back of Gragson, who tried to block him under braking. While the contact didn’t hamper Gragson much, the situation escalated lap by lap, and Gragson tried to make a point by constantly banging into Magnussen, even flipping him the bird mid-caution.

It ended when Magnussen had had enough and simply spun Gragson out of his way on lap 38 of 75. Speaking further about the incident, Buxton added:

“If it was Hamlin or Larson or anybody of any note, then he (Magnussen) might sit up and take notice. But he’s not going to care that somebody who’s about as sort of relevant to him... I don’t really see that it’s a fight worth having because Kev’s just going to do what Kev did, which basically said, 'You f*** about, find out. And that was literally what came out of Kev’s mouth.”

But Buxton wasn’t the only one siding with Magnussen; even Harvick thought that Gragson had it all wrong.

Harvick believes Gragson did it for the headlines

Kevin Magnussen set the fastest lap of the NASCAR Cup race, even quicker than race winner Corey Heim. That single lap proved that Magnussen had the goods beneath him to get a better finish than 27th.

But Kevin Harvick made an interesting point on the aforementioned podcast about Gragson taking on Magnussen. He said:

"Look, Noah’s a great kid and great for our sport, but I think sometimes he’s looking for the headline. I don’t think he’s shying away from it."

"It’s like ‘Oh, I can make a point with this guy and get some good headlines because I didn’t have a very good day.' But if you’re going to do all that stuff, you might as well just wreck the guy and be done with it."

While Harvick and Buxton have had their say on the Magnussen and Gragson incident, not everyone is on the same side. 

Where do you stand on this beef? Let us know your thoughts in the comments

Follow the RFK Racing Digest for more updates!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Yash Kotak