All-around chaos ensued at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, as Denny Hamlin outlasted the rest of the field in a race that will likely be remembered for quite a while. The Advent Health 400 did not disappoint, with a record of 38 lead changes, and a lot of bumping and banging along the way. On top of that, the finish of the NASCAR Cup Series race saw plenty of fireworks spill over into pit road.
But, before we get into the NASCAR fight of the year (so far), let's look at the contact that started it all. With less than 60 or so laps to go in the race, Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson got into it on the track. It started when Chastain bumped Gragson up the track and into the wall, and Gragson came back down to nudge Chastain. The incident ultimately led Gragson having to come to the pits, which brought out the race's 10th caution.
A tough break for Noah Gragson. pic.twitter.com/Ld5vsUqsC9
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2023
After the race, Gragson walked over to have a little chat with Chastain about what happened, and things got a little heated between the two. Gragson grabbed Chastain by the firesuit, which led to Ross throwing a right cross that landed square on Noah's jaw. Before Gragson could fire back, team members and NASCAR officials interrupted the tussle.
The skirmish went down during the middle of an interview with Kyle Larson, who finished second at Kansas. The Hendrick Motorsports driver couldn't help but get distracted by the dust-up, which he noticed on a monitor in front of him as he trailed off mid-answer with a big smile on his face.
"I wish we could see what was going on here, I guess," Larson said with a laugh.
Kyle Larson's live reaction to the Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson fight ? pic.twitter.com/5qvpuysnnR
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2023
Larson wasn't the only driver who wanted to take in the incident between Gragson and Chastain, as Hamlin, coming off his big celebration in victory lane, had Fox NASCAR's Bob Pockrass show him video of the altercation following his press conference. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was clearly amused.
Showing Kansas winner Denny Hamlin the Ross Chastain - Noah Gragson fight. pic.twitter.com/pECPYB3Gml
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 7, 2023
It sure looked like it was another race day of Chastain adding more drivers to the "I Hate the Watermelon Man" list. He also had a run-in with Kyle Busch early in the race, and Busch had plenty to say about it over his in-car radio.
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2023
Gragson and Chastain both drive Chevrolets and have worked together well in the past, but the back-and-forth of the last few weeks seems to have created quite the rift between the two. This may have been started by the incident during the Geico 500 at Talladega a couple of weeks ago. This begs the question, which it seems like we've been asking every week now: how many friends does the No. 1 car have left?
