Watch the crazy video of the NASCAR crash at Road America
Update: NASCAR fines Noah Gragson $35,000 after incident with Sage Karam
On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series raced at the Road America road course. In the final stage, we saw a massive pileup stemming from a retaliation attempt.
Watch the video of the NASCAR crash from Road America below.
On lap 25 of 45, Gragson drove side by side with Sage Karam for 7th. Gragson misses the inside curb by about a foot. He ran wide into the corner and doored Sage Karam.
Gragson stuck his hand (or possibly just a single finger) out of the drivers side window as they left the corner.
In the very next turn, Karam worked back to the inside of Gragson. Off the corner, Karam ran Gragson wide and forced him to drop a wheel at the exit of the corner.
Retaliation causes 13 car crash
Gragson then turned hard right down the straight away out of frustration. He hooked Karam in his left rear. Both cars went spinning across the track. Dust and smoke clouded the race track in a hurry.
The track itself is narrow. With cars parked sideways at multiple points, there’s nowhere to go.
Yet, the rest of the field was closing fast on the scene. Landon Cassill (No. 10) spun into the scene, further blocking the track. Myatt Snider (No. 31) slammed into him.
Brandon Brown (No. 68) had an option to go left or right as he approached the scene. He went left and guessed wrong, driving right into the door of Tyler Reddick (No. 48) parked machine.
After the impact, Brown climbed from his machine in pain. He sat on the ground against the wall as the medical team tended to him. Brown was later released from the care center.
Involved in incident (13 cars) : Noah Gragson, Sage Karam, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Brett Moffitt, Bayley Currey, Andy Lally, Landon Cassill, Daniel Hemric, Josh Bilicki, Tyler Reddick, Jeremy Clements andBrandon Brown.
Sage Karam radio, “We’re done! The No. 9 turned into me on the straightaway man, that’s so wrong. I’m so sorry guys, the No. 9 drove into me on a straight line. He hard turned into me.”
Road America Race Results: July 2, 2022 (NASCAR Xfinity Series)
Sage Karam comments
“I think Noah just got confused and thought we were in a corner but we were actually on a straight line, so I’m not really sure,” Sage Karam told NBC.
“We got really lucky, considering all the drivers that were involved in that, to not have anybody get seriously hurt. That was ridiculous, I’ve never been turned into on a straight line like that, in car racing, ever in my life.”
“Just flat out turn to the right. And, out of pure frustration. I think he tried to take officiating or whatever, into his own hands. You can’t be that heated while you’re driving a race car.”
“Unfortunately, he let his emotions get the best of him today. But, I’ve seen that with him. He walks around like he’s the big man on campus around here. Then, he does stuff like that. It’s just not a good role model.”
“I think a lot of people have already spoke to Noah. I don’t think Noah’s going to change. The short time that I’ve been in Xfinity, I have not heard a lot of great things about Noah. And, he has not shown a lot of great racing with me, on track.”
Karam added, “I’m not sure we can change Noah. I think this is something that Noah needs to take a look in the mirror. He needs to look at himself and want to make a change, himself.”
Karam adds more comments
He later told Bob Pockrass, “I think it was very dangerous. He put a lot of drivers at risk.”
“I’ve never turned into somebody deliberately on a straight line. That’s exactly what he just did. I don’t understand it. Out of like safety, that was just completely wrong.”
“He won’t be penalized. He’s a popular guy around here, I guess.”
After the race, Karam added more comments via social media.
Karam stated via twitter, “Gutted for Team Alpha Prime today. They put together one heck of a race car for me this weekend and I am proud to drive for them. Also apologies to the third of the field that lost their shot today too from a reckless, dangerous decision. We will push forward and get our result.”
Karam comes from the world of Indycar. However, he ran four Xfinity races last year and he’s run two more this season. He was racing for his career best finish at the time of the incident.
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Noah Gragson responds
“Yeah, I guess he forgot the three times he threw it off in the corner, doored us and ran us off the race track,” Noah Gragson commented.
“Eventually, you get sick and tired of it. I hate people’s stuff got torn up. But, three times is a bit ridiculous, today. Not including the past.”
“So, I take responsibility. I hate it for his guys but we’re fighting to race for a championship here. I’m just really over, getting run over.”
Gragson was asked if they had a feud that might continue.
“It’s over, to me. He starts it, I finish. All good.”
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Brandon Brown comments
“Just an area where there’s no spotters. And, very high speed, trying to carry as much as you can,” Brandon Brown stated.
“Caught the dust cloud. Looks like the No. 45 went around. I couldn’t really see anything, until I saw the No. 48 when I plowed him.”
Brown concluded, “A real gut check. I lost my breath. And, a little kick to the area that you don’t want to injure. Just a bummer that it ended our day early. I hate that.”
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Update: NASCAR team owner Tommy Joe Martins comments
“Absolutely on purpose. Kelley Earnhardt and Dale Jr, I’m sure you’re embarrassed to even be associated with that. Hard racing and bumping a guy back I get but that kind of stuff can hurt someone. It’s too much.”
Martins added of Karam, “Proud to have this guy as a part of our race team.”
Kelley Earnhardt is the sister to Dale Earnhardt Jr. She’s also the manager of JR Motorsports.
Kelley Earnhardt responded to Tommy Joe Martins, “I’m not embarrassed. I understand you are upset rightfully so. Our team will sort out what we need to with Noah and move on. The highs and lows are all part of what we do.”
A fan commented on social media that Kelley isn’t embarrassed because of the checks from Scott Gragson.
Kelley responded, “That is a BS comment. A lot of you fans have zero idea what it takes to race in this sport and run a team. Doesn’t matter the size it all takes money. Did when my dad ran. Does now.”
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