Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson has a philosophy to never be the aggressor in a fight — he didn’t care much about it back in 2023. Off turn 4 with 60 laps to go at Kansas, he was driving the No. 42 when Ross Chastain‘s No. 1 nudged him, leaving him spinning. The two had already locked horns a week ago at Talladega, and Chastain’s notoriety was getting to Gragson.

After the race, he waited for Chastain beside his car because even though everyone was tired of him, “nobody confronts the guy.” Unfortunately for Gragson, he never got to land that punch of justice on Chastain’s face despite confronting him. But when recently asked if he would like to change what he did then, Gragson has no regrets.

“You get fined, first of all. So you got to eat one, and you go to town. And the only problem is when you go to town, you can’t have the security guard that’s going to grab your arm and keep fighting,” Gragson said on the Racin’ With The Boys podcast. “I went up to him and grabbed him, and in NASCAR, they’ll fine you if you fight. So, I had to eat one. And then I was going to go to town. I was going to get him, too. I’ll eat one. I don’t have a problem eating one.”

Gragson waited for Chastain by his car, and as soon as the No. 1 stepped there, the two had their hands on each other’s suits as Gragson continued to, putting it subtly, show his displeasure at what had been happening. At one point, Chastain asked Gragson to stop cursing him. But when he didn’t listen, Chastain couldn’t help but swing a quick hook at the then-No. 42. The latter, however, didn’t have the best of luck.

You see, just as NASCAR security saw the heated moment between the two, one man grabbed Gragson’s hand before he could retaliate by punching Chastain back. Two, meanwhile, kept Chastain away. In his own words, he was getting ready to throw a ‘haymaker.’ For Gragson, the reason for his becoming the aggressor at that point was simple:

“Someone’s got to do it.”

But soon enough, both were able to talk it out with Gragson still ensuring Chastain knew what could’ve happened if the security had not intervened.

“We went to the dirt track and tested a micro sprint car the next day, and I was like, ‘Hey, nice shot. But just letting you know, if security didn’t grab my arm, I was coming. I wasn’t going to stop going hammer and tongs at anybody.’ I don’t remember exactly what he said, but he’s like, ‘Yeah, no hard feelings. All good.'”

Interestingly, fights among the drivers are not entertained by NASCAR. Just look at when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 for punching Kyle Busch in the All-Star Race. But neither Gragson nor Chastain was fined for this fight, probably because it didn’t escalate.

Gragson was naturally applauded by the entire grid for his actions. Almost everybody had had enough of Ross Chastain’s bullying on track. Many drivers advocated that Gragson should’ve been allowed to throw a punch at Chastain before he was stopped, so that the matchup was fair and square.

While Gragson proudly remembers this altercation, the other side of the coin, Ross Chastain, has slowly faded away into a shadow of his former self. Many believe that it is because of the constant pushback he received from the NASCAR garage. But it could very well be his understanding of how his performances have been so far, and he doesn’t have the upper hand to prove himself. Meanwhile, for Gragson, this was nothing he would ever regret.