NASCAR Makes Decision on Collision and Fight Between Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson

Saturday’s doubleheader of NASCAR action came to a close in a memorable fashion. Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric went after Noah Gragson during the EchoPark 250 post-race interview, prompting a fight between the two. NASCAR investigated the incident, as well as the pit road collision that led to the brawl, and determined that there would be no punishment.

“We reviewed the incident which occurred between the 9 and 18 cars on pit road during Saturday night’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and met with Noah Gragson after the event,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, in a Sunday statement. “A chain reaction of events led to the 18 and 9 both overshooting their pit stalls. The 9 ended up both long and out of his pit box to the outside, and needed to back up as far as possible to have any chance at fully pulling into his box. After reviewing the video, it is our judgment that the contact was not deliberate.”

The incident occurred late in Saturday’s race. Hemric pulled the No. 18 Toyota Supra into his pit box in order to get some tires and fuel for a late run. However, his car went too far forward, which Hemric attributed to another driver accelerating out of another stall. Gragson, who was just behind Hemric in his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro, also missed his pit stall and was dangerously close to a penalty. He backed up into his stall and hit the front of Hemric’s Toyota before pulling forward once again.

Gragson ultimately finished the race in fourth place, while Hemric finished ninth. The JR Motorsports driver then began conducting a post-race interview about how he rebounded from an early spin to finish top-five, but Hemric interrupted the discussion. He shoved Gragson, who responded with a missed punch. Hemric threw a punch of his own and connected.

The altercation did not end with the NASCAR officials and crews separating the two men. The drivers continued to argue on social media. Gragson posted his side of the story, as well as a video showing the top-down view of him hitting the No. 18 Toyota in the pit stall. Hemric retweeted the video and continued to express the opinion that the collision was intentional.

This post-fight scuffle is not the first involving Gragson. In 2020, he punched Harrison Burton after the Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway in response to several shoves. The two men had collided on the track, and the post-fight brawl continued the altercation.