Former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen was part of arguably NASCAR’s most unique weekend of 2026, when drivers raced around an active military base in San Diego for the first time. While his performance wasn’t anything to write home about, he did have a moment he’ll remember for some time: a huge clash with Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson, who was livid. During a recent conversation with fellow Cup Series star Chase Briscoe, Gragson revealed why he didn’t do more than exchange a few words with the Dane after confronting him following the race.
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“I’m trying to get a job next year,” Gragson said on The Dale Jr. Download podcast. “I thought K-Mag was weak in the knees. There’s a lot more consequences than just the monetary fine if I were to do that.”
Neither Gragson nor Magnussen was anywhere near the front, but the latter appeared to get frustrated with the way he was getting blocked during their battle. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and spun Gragson straight into the wall of the road course circuit. It ended the Front Row Motorsports driver’s race, and he was classified 35th in the end. And a furious Gragson decided to confront Magnussen after the Anduril 250 ended.
Gragson told the former Haas F1 driver, “You wrecked the **** out of me over here. What’s your **** problem?” Magnussen, who made his stock-car racing debut that weekend as part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 initiative, simply responded by telling him to “get out of his face.” Gragson decided not to escalate the matter further because of his admittedly dicey situation.
The 28-year-old has a contract with FRM through 2027, but he’s had a poor season, which has put his place in doubt. His average finishing position this season is 25.1, and he’s 30th in the standings, 115 points behind teammate Zane Smith, who is 23rd in the standings. There are drivers in FRM’s pipeline, like Layne Riggs, who has shone in the Truck Series by winning four races in 2026, poised to take over the No. 4 car. As a result, Gragson is fighting for his future in the sport, including auditioning for potentially vacant seats at Richard Childress Racing or Kaulig Racing.
In such a moment, his crash with Magnussen was a source of massive disappointment, and the aftermath has also been brutal for him online. Gragson told Briscoe in the podcast how fans of the former McLaren F1 driver flocked to his social media to call him “fat,” among other expletives.
“Oh, dude, they come out of the woodworks. And it’s always guys with like zero posts, and they’re just Europeans. And they’re like, ‘You fat ******, you **** at driving,’” Gragson revealed, before cheekily adding that since they were both running around 30th, they were both bad at driving, making the insults from the Dane’s fans not make much sense.
Magnussen’s one-off NASCAR appearance ended with a heated confrontation, but with no plans to return to the Cup Series anytime soon, he’s leaving that behind for now. Gragson, meanwhile, doesn’t have that option.
As he heads to North Wilkesboro for this weekend’s Window World 450, every race is a chance to prove he deserves to stay in the Cup Series beyond 2027. Looking back, avoiding a fight with Magnussen may have been one of the smartest decisions he made all season.