Las Vegas’ Noah Gragson involved in fight after Xfinity race

Noah Gragson was involved in another NASCAR controversy Saturday as the Las Vegas driver exchanged blows with Daniel Hemric after an Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The brawl stemmed from an incident on pit road during the race when cars apparently stacked up preventing Gragson and Hemric from getting into their pit boxes. Gragson backed into Hemric’s car before rejoining the race.

“I don’t know why he is mad,” said Gragson, who was doing a postrace interview when Hemric approached him and punches were exchanged. “We were behind him coming down pit road and he was in our pit box. I had to come around him and I’m not sure why he was there.”

Gragson went on to finish fourth and got in a more subtle jab on his racing rival during a TV interview.

“I’d feel (bad) if I was in his shoes, too, based on what he’s shown in his career.”

Hemric refused to take the blame for the pit road incident.

“When I pulled into my (pit) box, we had a guy behind me who went to leave at the same time from the box behind us. (That forced) me to pull in the No. 9 (Gragson) box and back up. I guess he was oblivious … to what my situation was.

“There’s a hole in the nose of my car and he got popped in the eye. Where I stand from, we’re in good shape.”

It has been a trying season for Gragson. During a recent race at Homestead, Florida, he had built a lead of almost nine seconds when a lapped car driven by David Starr cut a tire and drove directly into his path. The Las Vegas driver crashed two laps from the finish, costing him a certain victory, and afterward during his TV interview he used an expletive in describing Starr.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.