DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: Noah Gragson officially has just one exhibition race with his new Stewart-Haas Racing team, but the NASCAR Cup Series driver says he already feels at home.
“They’ve just allowed me to be myself,” Gragson said Thursday during Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. “It’s a good group of people. It’s great to be wanted and appreciated and the atmosphere over there, there’s just a lot of good people who enjoy coming to work every day.
“It’s a great work environment. I know when I wake up in the morning, I’m like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to go see everybody at the shop today and go work alongside them’ and continue to develop these relationships. It’s just a place that suits me.”
After a tumultuous 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season that lacked results and speed at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, the Las Vegas, Nev. native was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR last August for liking a racially insensitive social media post.
Subsequently, Gragson and LEGACY M.C. parted ways, with Gragson eventually being reinstated by NASCAR in September after the driver successfully completed diversity and inclusion training.
The driver known for a bubbly and infectious personality remained quiet and flew under the radar until his return to the NASCAR Cup Series was announced in January, replacing Aric Almirola at Stewart-Haas Racing this season.
As he flew to Daytona to begin his quest for his third appearance in the Great American Race this week, Gragson said he took the opportunity to soak in the moment.
“Just for me personally, instead of getting on a plane, I get to get on a plane and fly down here and drive into the tunnel and look around and just really soak everything in because it truly is a privilege,” added Gragson.
“Being able to wear a fire suit and talk to everyone and see faces that I haven’t seen in a while is really special. It’s somewhat emotional just because I’ve missed it, and it’s great to be back.”
Gragson insisted that the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series is a reboot of his career but knows it won’t be easy.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a reboot,” offered Gragson. “It’s incredible to get an opportunity like this. At the same time, there’s gonna be challenges along the way. There’s gonna be adversity. There’s gonna 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 sense of ‘hey, I’ve got to keep on working at this.’ It’s not always gonna come as easy as it did in my final year in Xfinity.”
After his success in Xfinity, which included 13 wins since 2020, Gragson admitted that last season opened his eyes, and he has had to do a lot of reflecting not only with himself but with those around him.
A more mature Gragson is poised to elevate himself both on and off the track this season.
“It was somewhat of a rude awakening in 2023,” recalled Gragson. “Obviously, we didn’t unload with race-winning speed, ever, so that was a big challenge. We’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.”
Gragson also supported bringing key relationships with him to the No. 10 Ford Mustang this season.
“Yeah, we have a lot of great support,” sounded Gragson. “It’s just relationships and being able to bring value to a partner and say, ‘Hey, what’s our plan here? How do we achieve it and go above and beyond?’ I can confidently say that we do go above and beyond and try to, and we’ve got a lot of great partners that allow us to do this.
“It’s great to be back with True Timber and Black Rifle Coffee and kick off this relationship with Ranger Boats and Winchester. It’s really special to be able to introduce them on a familiar scheme that we’ve had over the past handful of years in the Xfinity Series. It kind of brings me back to our roots and a little bit of my identity back.”
While it seems like Gragson has enough on his shoulders to try to prove his worth at the sport’s highest level, he is also invested in guiding Stewart-Haas Racing back to its winning ways.
The team went winless in 2024, a statistic that Gragson wants to change – beginning with Sunday’s DAYTONA 500.
“You can’t hide the fact, which I haven’t been there and Josh hasn’t been there, but there’s no denying the fact that they struggled,” offered Gragson. “They went from winning how many races in ‘21 or ‘22, whatever that year is that they all won races and had like 12 or 13 wins as an organization to having only one driver with one win.
“It’s challenging, but I think we use it as motivation. We all want to be leaders. We all want to be the best teammates possible, and we all want to work together to be a part of this deal.
It takes everyone’s effort, and if we can be better than we were yesterday, that’s how we’re gonna be successful in the long run if we can constantly keep improving and working together.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
