NASCAR Fights: Ross Chastain Served Due Justice as Chase Elliott’s Whisper Causes Brawl at Kansas
Ross Chastain rarely hides his emotions behind the wheel. That fire exploded earlier this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Running strong in the final laps, Chastain had victory in his sights until his protégé, Carson Hocevar, threw it all away. Hocevar, battling hard in the outside lane, made a questionable move that squeezed Chastain and derailed his chances. The incident was frustrating not just for Chastain but also for his crew, who had worked hard all weekend. The cameras caught Chastain having words with Hocevar post-race.
All of his moves almost worked. He almost won. That’s great. I just don’t think it was what was best. Definitely wasn’t the best for me at that moment. I lost a chance to win the race because of him, and I want to understand why he did that. He told me the reason, and I don’t have to agree with it,” he later told the NASCAR media. However, Hocevar’s aggressive driving and on-track antics divided the NASCAR garage; many saw him as a new polarized figure in the sport, while some sided with the likes of Chastain and Busch.
But irony runs deep in NASCAR. While Chastain questioned Hocevar’s tactics, fans recalled Kansas 2023, when Chastain himself ignited a pit road brawl with Noah Gragson after similar contact. That infamous punch became a meme and cemented Chastain’s “wreckers or checkers” reputation. Now, as we head back to Kansas Motor Speedway for the Spring race, let’s recall that iconic moment.
How did Chase Elliott ignite the fire in Kansas?
The 2023 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway had all the usual elements: speed, strategy, and high stakes. Denny Hamlin won the race and kept his hopes alive, but what happened after the race is what people remember. Noah Gragson, still fuming from getting squeezed into the wall by Chastain off Turn 4, stormed down pit road. He confronted Chastain. Voices rose. Cameras caught the intensity. Gragson grabbed Chastain’s firesuit.
Without hesitation, Chastain swung and landed a clean right hook to Gragson’s face. He did try to get back at the Trackhouse star driver, but security stormed in, stopping him from hitting back. “I got tight off of Turn 4, for sure. He came down and grabbed hold of me, and a very big man once told me we have a no-push policy here at Trackhouse,” Chastain said. However, Gragson didn’t see it that way. “He fenced us. He did it at Talladega. I’m over it. No one else has the balls to confront him, so I did.” Notably, Gragson finished 29 while Chastain finished 5th. But the fight overshadowed it all.
