After steady progress toward the upper echelons of stock car racing, Noah Gragson made a critical mistake that altered the trajectory of his career.
Armed now with a new perspective, Gragson hopes to restart his truncated stint in the NASCAR Cup Series with a new team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
Gragson was suspended last August for “liking” a racially insensitive social media post relating to the death of George Floyd. He resigned as driver of the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 21 races into the NASCAR Cup Series season.
Gragson earned reinstatement in September and subsequently landed a ride in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Ford, replacing Aric Almirola. He’s grateful for the opportunity to prove himself.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a reboot,” said Gragson, who won eight NASCAR Xfinity Series races with JR Motorsports in 2022 and finished second in the final standings before moving up to the Cup Series with Legacy. “It’s incredible to get an opportunity like this.
“At the same time, there’s going to be challenges along the way. There’s going to be adversity. There’s going to be good runs and bad runs, but it’s how you react to it and how you keep on moving forward each and every race. It’s easy when you’re winning, and I’ve kind of learned that over the past couple of years.
“When we were in the Xfinity Series and literally could do no wrong, it might have been the best thing for me, but the worst thing of winning all those races because, I kind of lost my grounding in the sense of ‘Hey, I’ve got to keep on working at this.’ It’s not always going to come as easy as it did in my final year in Xfinity.”
The reality of that statement hit home last year even before the suspension. Gragson failed to score a top 10 and suffered DNFs in six of the 21 races.
“It was somewhat of a rude awakening in 2023,” he acknowledged. “Obviously, we didn’t unload with race-winning speed, ever, so that was a big challenge. (I’ve) done a lot of self-reflecting and soul searching over the past handful of months and trying to become the best leader possible.
“I think that’s what in 20 years, when I look back, I feel like, man, if I was the best leader for my team and the best piece of the puzzle for my team and did the best job, I’ll be satisfied with myself.”
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