Things got heated at Kansas Speedway during the Cup Series race on May 7th, 2023, culminating in a postrace fistfight in the pits between two NASCAR Chevy drivers.
Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 42 Chevy Camaro ZL1 race car, tracked down Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Camaro, after the checkered flag. The two Bow Tie race cars traded paint several times throughout the race, and with approximately 60 laps left in the race, Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro made contact with Gragson’s No. 42 Camaro, sending the latter for a spin.
Gragson approached Chastain on Pit Road, grabbing Chastain and prompting him to take a swing at Gragson. The scuffle continued even as the two drivers were pulled apart.
“I got tight off of [Turn] 4, for sure,” Chastain explained of the contact with Gragson. “Noah and I have a very similar attitude on the racetrack. We train together, we prepare together, and we know every little thing about each other.”
He added, “Yeah, I definitely crowded him up off of 4, and he took a swipe at us in 3, and came down and grabbed ahold of me [on Pit Road]. A very big man once told me we have a no-push policy here at [Chastain’s team] Trackhouse [Racing].”
When asked about the incident, Gragson said, “I’m sick and tired of it,” referencing Chastain’s driving style. “The guy runs into everyone. When you have guys like Chase Elliott [driver of the No. 9 Camaro] and other guys telling you to beat his ass, everyone is just sick of him.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Larson’s No. 5 NASCAR Chevy was leading on the last lap, but found himself on the receiving end of a bump from eventual race winner Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry, costing him the win at the line.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 267 | 34 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 2 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 267 | 85 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 267 | 10 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Dr Pepper Zero Sugar Toyota | 267 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | AdventHealth Chevrolet | 267 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 267 | 8 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 21 | 9 | Chase Elliott | UniFirst Chevrolet | 267 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Reser's Fine Foods Toyota | 267 | 79 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 9 | 5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | McDonald's Toyota | 267 | 23 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BetMGM Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 13 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light #ForTheFarmers Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Dillons/Kraft Mac & Cheese Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 27 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 9 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Moen Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 14 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal/Body Guard Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 30 | 31 | Justin Haley | Celsius Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 20 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian GoTG Vol 3 Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 24 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | FOE Chevrolet | 267 | 7 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 19 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 26 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 35 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 266 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 32 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Speedy Cash Ford | 266 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 29 | 48 | Josh Berry(i) | Ally Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 266 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 28 | 41 | Ryan Preece | HaasTooling.com Ford | 266 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 34 | 15 | Brennan Poole(i) | VDL Strong/go2mro.com/donate Ford | 264 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 22 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 262 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 25 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 261 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 15 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 260 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 31 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford | 260 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 36 | 78 | Josh Bilicki | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 260 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 176 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 35 | 16 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 162 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 12 | 20 | Christopher Bell | SiriusXM Toyota | 157 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
Next time just sucker punch Chastain and knock him out. Don’t give him any forewarning! He deserves an ass beating by half the field! Larson needs to kick Hamlin’s @ss too!! Too many dirty drivers in Nascar. No class or talent. Just a wreck em mentality anymore.
Bumping for the win is what bad drivers do. Desperate Denny wanted to make sure MJ knew for sure that he was a BULL too…
America’s biggest and most expensive demolition derby where the participants are spoiled brats. What ever happened to the real NASCAR?
Drivers show emotion and passion: omg they’re spoiled brats, they should just race!
Drivers show zero emotion: omg where’s the passion! What happened to the REAL NASCAR! Back in the day things were settled in the pits!!!
Pick one lol
Personally, I thought it was a pathetic retaliation attempt. Immediately after hitting the wall. The 42 moves down and gives the 1 a viscous love tap to show his displeasure. I don’t think the 1 got the message. The 1 is not going to change until others retaliate in kind. Then the 1 will learn it’s not beneficial to wreck others
Did Hamlin do this before to Larson that denied him the win?
Gragson’s face sure walloped The Boss’s fist!