NASCAR Driver Says F1 Fans Targeted Him on Social Media After Viral San Diego Clash

What’s Happening?

Noah Gragson says that after his viral battle with Formula One veteran Kevin Magnussen, F1 fans on social media went after him in his DMs, with the Front Row Motorsports driver mostly laughing off their insults.

Just last month, one of the most unlikely quarrels in NASCAR history took place at the San Diego Street Circuit located on Naval Base Coronado.

Noah Gragson, a NASCAR veteran, and former Formula One veteran Kevin Magnussen, driving in a one-off start for Trackhouse Racing, scrapped it out late in the race, with Magnussen eventually wrecking the No. 4.

While they had a brief shouting match after the race, Gragson did not fight the Dane, something he opened up about later that week.

Of course, this altercation did not spill beyond San Diego, as Magnussen has no public plans to race again this season, but that doesn’t mean the beef was squashed for Gragson.

During his recent co-hosting appearance on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast The Dale Jr. Download alongside his friend and current Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe, Gragson said he was a target of “F1 Twitter” after his run-in with KMAG.

Gragson told Briscoe that after the race, users flooded his DM’s with attacks on his driving.

“They come out of the woodworks, and it’s always guys with like zero post, and they’re just Europeans, and they’re like, ‘You fat f*****g wanker. You suck at driving.'” — Noah Gragson

Of course, Gragson, one of the Cup Series’ more relaxed personalities, laughed off the messages, saying, “If I ran with him [Magnussen] for 30th, we both kind of suck, right? If he was running around me. . . Don’t we both kind of suck?”

Why Didn’t Gragson Fight Magnussen?

While most fans were surprised that the post-race shouting match, in which Gragson repeatedly asked Magnussen, “What’s your fucking problem?” multiple times, did not escalate into a fight, Gragson cleared the air the week after their clash.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Gragson said that he was warned of “long-term consequences with my job” if he instigated a fight with Magnussen.

Gragson has been at the center of Silly Season rumors for some time, with reports indicating that he could be out of his No. 4 for 2027, though this has yet to be confirmed by Front Row Motorsports.

During his time co-hosting the Dale Jr Download, despite saying differently, Gragson appeared not to be entirely over the crash, noting that the spin, though it looked casual, the hit from Magnussen was “a 14G hit.”

Still, Gragson reiterated during his discussion with Briscoe that a fight with Magnussen would have cost him his job, somewhat confirming that his spot at FRM is not yet guaranteed for 2027.

“I’m trying to get a job next year,” Gragson said. “There’s a lot more consequences than just the monetary fine if I were to do that.”

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