BMW LMDh driver Kevin Magnussen, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), made his first NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday afternoon in the series’ inaugural San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado, bringing the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Project91 Chevrolet home in 27th place.

Magnussen’s Cup Series debut was relatively uneventful on track. The former Formula 1 driver recorded the fastest lap of the race on the brand-new circuit, earning a valuable championship point in the process. However, despite what appeared to be a clean outing, Magnussen got a taste of NASCAR’s physical style of racing following an incident with Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson.

The incident occurred when Magnussen made rear-end contact with Gragson’s No. 4 Ford, resulting in damage to both cars and contributing to Gragson’s early exit from the event.

Following the race, tensions remained high as Gragson confronted Magnussen over the contact. Magnussen had little to say during the exchange, while Gragson voiced his frustration over the incident that ended his afternoon prematurely.

Nevertheless, Magnussen spent much of the race inside the top 20 and at times appeared capable of challenging for a top-10 finish in his Cup Series debut.

Due to his full-time commitments with BMW’s Hypercar program, a return to the Cup Series later this season appears unlikely, especially with only one road course event remaining on the schedule at Sonoma Raceway next weekend. However, the former F1 star left a strong impression in his debut, and the possibility of another NASCAR appearance in the future cannot be ruled out.

Image Courtesy to NASCAR