Last month, Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric collided with each other at Atlanta. Needless to say, tempers flared and fists were thrown on that day. Of course, both drivers got into a heap of trouble because of their stunt but somehow managed to escape any penalties.
Now that the two hotheads have calmed down, they were able to reflect on their actions. Recently, Gragson spoke about the incident and admitted that he was ready to forgive Hemric. He said, “I’m going to call him in the next day or two. For me right now, I took a little bit of a break for Easter. Just kind of wanted to reset my mind, didn’t want to jump into anything too premature.”
Gragson acknowledged that he wanted to control his emotions and give himself time to cool off. He knew that after the incident, emotions were very high. Nevertheless, the driver insisted that Hemric was a good driver and they were teammates in 2020. According to him, “There was no hard feelings towards Daniel or anybody else in the Xfinity garage. At the same time, I need to race as hard as I can.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Noah Gragson is looking forward to Martinsville
Truthfully speaking, Gragson has not enjoyed a particularly great start to his season. The man has gotten unlucky on several occasions, in spite of having the pace to run at the front. There were many occasions where he would have some kind of crash or retirement, which would rarely be his fault.
However, the incident at Atlanta was a lot different.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
In the pit lane, Hemric’s #18 car overshot its box and encroached on Gragson’s pit box. Hemric backed up to correct himself, but it displaced Gragson. As a result, the #9 driver was also forced to back up and re-position himself in the pit box, which led to him bumping into Hemric.
Gragson insisted that he was not at fault and the full replay would reveal that he didn’t just back into him without any reason.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Nevertheless, the two drivers are ready to move on. The Atlanta race may not have gone to plan, but there is plenty of time for them to buck up.
MORE: WATCH: Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric React After Huge Fight in NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Atlanta