A fan in flip-flops scaled two security fences during a red flag at Naval Base Coronado, walked straight up to a Cup-affiliated driver’s window for a chat, then scaled the same two fences back out. All of that happened on an active U.S. military installation, in front of federal agents, and that is what separates Saturday’s moment from every other fence-jumper in NASCAR history.

The interaction happened during a nearly 45-minute red flag in Saturday’s United Rentals Driven to Serve 250, called to repair wall damage from Sam Mayer’s multi-car wreck. The fan reached Sheldon Creed’s No. 00 Haas Chevrolet, leaned on the A-pillar, and struck up a conversation that Creed could barely follow.

“My spotter was like, ‘Ask him the damage,'” Creed recounted. “And I’m like, ‘How’s all my damage look?’ Like, yelling at him. And he looks at it, and he’s like, ‘Bad!’ I’m like, ‘Alright.’ And then he said something else, and I didn’t make out what he said. Probably boozing a little bit. And then he looks around and goes, ‘Are you guys still racing?’ I was like, ‘What?'”

Officials later asked Creed directly whether the fan had made contact with the car.

“Yeah, they asked if he’d touched (the car), and I (said), ‘Yeah, he leaned on the A-pillar, but I really couldn’t understand what he was saying, I think he was enjoying some beverages,'” Creed said.

Creed, who was racing close to his San Diego hometown and finished third behind winner Austin Hill and runner-up Taylor Gray, then drew the Mtt Kenseth comparison himself – one that was on everyone’s mind.

“I didn’t know who it was, but I felt like Matt Kenseth at Watkins Glen when that fan popped over, and honestly, I thought it was funny, but I know that stuff is taking pretty serious.”

It was at Watkins Glen in 2007 when a shirtless fan walked onto the track during a red flag and leaned into Matt Kenseth’s window, asking for an autograph. Kenseth declined, saying, “I’m a little busy right now, buddy,” and the fan, later identified as a 33-year-old carpenter from Kenmore, New York, was arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal trespass, held on $3,000 bail.

The fan was subsequently banned from Watkins Glen, with track officials asking other venues to do the same. However, Kenseth, regretting how things unfolded, later mailed him signed memorabilia.

In Creed’s case, the fan did not ask for an autograph. Creed was also kind enough to let the fan know that people were noticing his actions and suggested he leave the area. In multiple videos, it was later revealed that the fan quickly jumped back down the fence and tried to vanish into the crowd. However, he was not lucky enough to leave the track so easily.

NCIS takes prompt action to arrest a trespassing fan

Once the fan re-scaled the fences and rejoined the crowd, agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service moved in and took him into custody on the spot. Unlike the fan at Watkins Glen, who faced state-level charges from a county sheriff’s office, the location this time demanded something different.

Motorsports reporter Jordan Bianchi distinguished the two, writing, “If I’m not mistaken, since this occurred on a military base, the individual is facing federal charges.”

Trespassing on an active naval installation indeed falls under federal jurisdiction rather than local law, which is what put NCIS in a position to make the arrest within minutes.

Denny Hamlin weighed in on the situation as well, zeroing in on a detail buried in the footage: a woman seen near the fan negotiating with officers as he was led away.

“Poor woman in the hat definitely had to bail this fella out of jail,” Hamlin posted.

Alongside the wall repairs and the manhole cover incident, spectators definitely walked away from this weekend with a lot to talk about.