NASCAR reveals likely outcome after Noah Gragson bizarre Brickyard 400 meltdown

One of the more bizarre incidents of the Brickyard 400 was Noah Gragson losing his cool and making contact with Connor Zilisch at race speed twice. And then, hitting him under caution, followed by a middle finger that would make Carson Hocever proud. We’ll call it ‘the lesser-known bird heard ‘round the Brickyard.’ On Tuesday’s episode of Hauler Talk, NASCAR managing director of racing communication Mike Forde addressed the incident and whether a penalty or further action will be taken against Gragson. While there is not likely a penalty on the way for Gragson, Forde said he imagines some sort of action will be taken. His prediction? Gragson and Zilisch will get called to the NASCAR Hauler for a meeting ahead of the Iowa race after the off-week. NASCAR Hauler here they come “Nothing as far as a penalty goes, but it’s TBD if there’s anything period,” said Forde. “I imagine there will be. This is obviously an off-week for the entire NASCAR National Series garage and industry, so our folks here are taking some well-deserved breathers. “So the usual debrief meetings did not occur today, so I don’t get to have the full insight from all the parties but I did talk to Elton Sawyer prior to this taping and asked him that question. “He’s obviously aware and is going to talk to Brad Moran. I would imagine if I was a betting man, not trying to tip any Kalshi bets, but I think there’s a pretty good chance that those two will be in the hauler to have a chat.” It worked last time Forde pointed to the NASCAR Hauler meetings with Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, as well as Shane van Gisbergen and Atlanta for the success of those meetings. He said that is the current leaning for NASCAR as it relates to Gragson and Zilisch. “I think that’s one of the tools we have in our belt to squash some potential bubbling up of things that could get bigger than we’d like it to be. Obviously, we had a meeting with Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar and then SVG and Austin Hill in Atlanta. And following those conversations, both which went well enough, you really haven’t seen anything from them that rose to the level of another discussion or a larger penalty. “So, I think that’s where we’re leaning as far as those two young men. Getting them in the hauler and clearing the air and letting them know that we don’t want to see that escalate.” The incident Noah Gragson and Connor Zilisch currently sit at 31st and 34th in the Chase standings. And that’s roughly around the positions they were racing for Sunday in Stage 1 of the Brickyard 400. From the green flag until pit cycles, Zilisch was the car directly in front of Gragson. And somewhere in the first 35 laps, it led to this bizarre reaction from Gragson. The lead-up I’ve gone back and watched Gragson’s in-car cam from the start of the race to the incident, and it’s hard to come up with anything of note that led to this. Let’s go back through the situation prior to this video. In the first 35 laps of the race, while they were together with Zilisch in front, there were very few moments that were passable by Gragson, which is the theme of the single-groove race that is the Brickyard 400. Zilisch was running the line everyone else was. The one time it appeared that Gragson could make a pass was when both checked up for Austin Dillon when he was having a tire issue. Zilisch, however, never changed his line. On Lap 36, Gragson pitted, which separated him and Zilisch. He spent the next five laps trailing Austin Cindric, who he motherf*cked and then asked if he was on old tires. His crew radioed that Cindric was on old tires and was pitting soon. The Gragson-Zilisch incident at speed On Lap 41 is when the action in the video above starts. Zilisch ran longer in Stage 1 before pitting. Realizing that Zilisch was going to blend right in front of him, Gragson yells, “motherf*cker” as Zilisch is just crossing the blend line. Granted, Gragson has the momentum, but Zilisch enters low well ahead of Gragson, who his high. Zilisch moves up the track and seems to realize that Gragson has the momentum, so he leaves the top open and then starts shading down to the inside, which is not where the preferred line is. Gragson follows him down and makes contact with him twice before upsetting his car enough to have to check up as Zilisch sped off. Gragson shows his displeasure under caution Fast forward to the Kyle Larson spin and crash on Lap 45. Gragson catches Zilisch under caution and slaps the driver’s side of the 88 with his right side. Gragson then slows to let Zilisch, still under caution, and speeds up to flip Zilisch the bird on the right side of Zilisch’s car. It was at this point that Gragson said: “This this f*cking prick in the 88, quit f*cking blocking.” His spotter responds: “10-4. I see it. Big picture here, bud.” When his spotter told him not to play Gragson’s games, Zilisch responded: “I’m not the one running into him.” It’s really hard to understand what set off Gragson like that. Was it simply the blend from Zilisch? Or maybe it was staring at the same car’s bumper all day with virtually no way to pass at IMS. Or it could just be a season’s worth of frustration. Gragson finished the race in 22nd. Zilisch finished in 34th.