NASCAR has penalized Noah Gragson for his dangerous driving during last Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Road America, issuing a $35,000 fine and docking him 30 points in the drivers’ standings. They also deducted 30 points from JR Motorsports in the owner standings.
While Gragson is still in fourth place in the Xfinity Series standings, the gap between him and teammate Josh Berry is now down to five points.
NEWS: @NoahGragson has been fined $35,000 for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.
The team has also lost 30 owner points and 30 driver points. pic.twitter.com/TpMpda2cZs
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 6, 2022
Gragson was driving the inciting vehicle in a 13-car crash during the Henry 180. He was seen making retaliatory contact, along with the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, against Alpha Prime Racing’s Sage Karam. The bump ended up clogging up the track and causing a scary pile-up, in which Brandon Brown was shaken up.
A massive accident during the @NASCAR_Xfinity Series race at @RoadAmerica.
Noah Gragson gets into Sage Karam, triggering a huge crash behind him involving Brandon Brown, Myatt Snider and many more. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/e5kTYQ60dh
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 2, 2022
While Gragson was not penalized at the time, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s vice president of officiating and technical inspection, said afterward that information learned after the race would likely lead to a punishment.
“We have additional information post-race that we didn’t have immediately after the race when we were speaking with Noah,” Sawyer told SiriusXM. “So again, we’ll look at it internally (Tuesday), what we’ve done in the past and in similar situations, but all things are on the table. And during the event, you know, it could rise to a level that you park a vehicle. It can rise to a level that we hold them for several laps. In this particular case, you know, we elected to speak with Noah post-race to make sure we had all the information and facts that we needed. And again, we’ll take a deeper dive into that incident (Tuesday) morning.”
Before the penalty was announced, Gragson said on Wednesday that he “made a mistake” and won’t take those kinds of actions again.
On @SiriusXMNASCAR, Noah Gragson says he “made a mistake” in wrecking Sage Karam because there’s a bigger picture to focus on and he’s going to do everything he can to not repeat that mistake.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 6, 2022
After the penalty was announced, there was a big reaction around the NASCAR world, with some feeling as though the punishment was weak while others were surprised it ended up being what it was.
Fair penalty in my opinion. Sends the message to other drivers that there IS a line that shouldn't be crossed.
I wish it was more black & white, but this may be the closest we get. https://t.co/DYSm2WGM4Y
— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) July 6, 2022
On SiriusXM, Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he was shocked by Noah Gragson's decision to turn Sage Karam at Road America.
"He needs to take that out of his toolbox. We can't be intentionally turning into guys on the straightaway."
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) July 6, 2022
Too bad that moneys not going to teams.
Even though, our damages are excess of $80,000. https://t.co/BrAJxIYnjc
— Collin Fern (@CollinMFern) July 6, 2022
This is more than the nothing I assumed he’d be penalized https://t.co/wvySckxOK5
— Mark Urban (@murbanvideo) July 6, 2022
Not far enough imo, maybe take away playoff points as well.#NASCAR https://t.co/fzLGsA8jL5
— Jaret Lundberg (@IceTitan80) July 6, 2022
Gragson is a two-time winner this season, with victories at Phoenix and Talladega.
