July 7, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Gragson needs to clean up his act before graduating to Cup

After everything Dale Earnhardt Jr. has experienced over the course of his 47 years, when he uses the term “completely shocked” to describe an on-track incident, it gets one’s attention. 

In the aftermath of the war between his driver, Noah Gragson, and Sage Karam at Road America, the team owner and NBC Sports analyst did not mince words.   

Earnhardt hit on every aspect of why Gragson’s actions were well over the top during an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday. 

“I was shocked, to be honest with you, when I saw Noah make that decision,” Earnhardt said. “I was just completely shocked and in a bit of disbelief not only that he made that choice but that he, you know, that it created such an accident and got so many other guys involved. 

“That was tough to watch, really tough.” 

Perhaps the toughest moment to take in on Saturday, while sitting in the press box at Road America, was seeing Brandon Brown have his bell rung. Watching a driver in obvious agony is one of the worst parts of the job. Earnhardt mentioned that moment as well. If anyone understands the dangers associated with racing, it’s Junior.

Earnhardt was also surprised NASCAR didn’t take immediate action at the track.

“I think that NASCAR doesn't want to over-officiate the races, but I think in some situations there's some things that do cross over a line,” Earnhardt said. “And I felt like that was definitely one of those situations where, had I been in the booth directing the race, I think I would've had to bring Noah to pit road and hold him there for a while.”

By the time Gragson was interviewed hours later on SiriusXM’s On Track, the driver already knew something was coming down the pike. While the affable driver acknowledged the error of his ways, he was still defending deliberately turning into Karam.

“It’s not the first race there with Sage that we’ve gotten into it,” Gragson said. “But at the same time, I made a mistake and what I would do differently is try to keep my temper and aggression under control and try and remain cool, calm, and collected.  

“There's a bigger picture than retaliating or getting Sage back for the multiple times he doored us. We have a bigger picture to chase. So I made a mistake and I hope to not make that mistake again. I'm going to try everything in my power not to make that mistake again.”

Later on Tuesday, NASCAR indeed penalized Gragson $35,000 and deducted 30 points from both the driver and the team for disregarding Section 4.4.C&E: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct. 

Now, rather than being nine points behind AJ Allmendinger in the Xfinity Series standings, Gragson’s deficit is 39 points, and he dropped to fourth.

Gragson took to social media later in the day to start auctioning racing mementos to cover the bill. Perhaps the most notable item was the iconic sword for winning the 2020 spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway. While several pundits have referred to Gragson’s placing things up for bid as a ‘yard sale,’ the true yard sale occurred in Turn 4 when 11 cars in addition to Gragson and Karam’s were collected in the melee—seven of which were unable to continue. 

Perhaps a better monetary fine would be to foot the bill for the cars Gragson destroyed by triggering the wreck, but that would probably run into seven figures. Was it his intention to take out one-third of the field? No. But if Gragson got a bill from the teams of the cars he destroyed, it might go a long way in understanding the true cost involved of his actions.

Certainly, Gragson is one of the more colorful characters in the sport. He goes out of his way to engage the fans. If there’s ever a remake of Leave it to Beaver, Gragson can quit his day job and play Eddie Haskell, a role for which he is ideally suited.

Another former JRM driver, Brad Keselowski, understands Gragson’s recent dilemma. As a young driver, Keselowski, too, had his share of run-ins with fellow competitors—and NASCAR.

“I’ve had a few of those moments,” Keselowski said. “Some have gone easier than others (laughs). I probably earned a few ass-chewings. But again, when you’re living on the edge, sometimes you’re going to step over. That’s part of it. I think NASCAR understands that.

“We need guys that step over the edge every once in a while. That’s OK. And NASCAR needs to reel them in when they do so. It’s a good, healthy relationship.”

If Earnhardt and his sister, JRM vice president Kelley Earnhardt Miller, didn’t get through to Gragson, NASCAR will. Young drivers eventually learn who owns the playground.

And if Gragson wants to act out, it will have to be off the track on his own time. Certainly, he has the talent to be a Sunday driver. Over the last four seasons, Gragson has advanced to the Xfinity Playoffs each year. He's scored seven wins in 118 starts.

But if he wants to be a full-time Cup driver, he might want the boss’s blessing along the way.

“He cannot be intentionally turning into guys on straightaways,” Earnhardt said. “I just hope that he realizes that that really is something that he needs to be careful about going forward. Noah wants to race in the Cup level, he wants to get to the Cup level and we want to help him get there, whether he's driving a Cup car for us one day or someone else when he makes those types of decisions. 

“And this is what I told him, I said, ‘You're hurting that opportunity. You're tarnishing, staining your reputation. And that's the last thing you want to do when you're trying to get job offers.’ I told him that I could stand behind him through just about anything, but I could not defend that.”