CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Noah Gragson has spent the past five months working on personal growth and maturity after his “liking” an insensitive George Floyd meme nearly cost him his NASCAR career.
He’ll get a chance to show whether he’s really grown with Stewart-Haas Racing, which said Wednesday it has hired Gragson to drive the No. 10 Ford in the Cup Series. It’s a second chance that Gragson does not take lightly after his career collapsed in August.
Social media users noted that a meme circulating of Floyd, a black man who was killed in 2020 by white police officers, was liked by Gragson. The 25-year-old has been suspended by NASCAR and has parted ways with the Legacy Motor Club, which has set the Las Vegas native to his first full season race at the top Cup level.
Gragson, who built a reputation as an aggressive driver on and off the track in the second-tier Xfinity Series, reached out to his good friend Brandon McReynolds and wondered why everything in his life was falling apart.
“I was like ‘Man, what’s going on?’ Like, is this real? “Why is this happening?” Gragson recalled in an interview with The Associated Press. He said: “My friend, I will tell you this because you are like a little brother to me, but it is time to grow up and it is time to take responsibility and allow yourself to take this opportunity to work on yourself and self-reflect.
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That’s what Gragson did during his suspension, as he had to work through a sensitive training session with NASCAR but also sought professional help from a psychologist. Gragson said the work he has done over the past five months has changed his life.
“It brought a tremendous amount of self-awareness to myself, self-reflection, and ultimately opened my eyes to the world and showed me that I am a very selfish man,” Gragson said. “I’ve learned to pay more attention, be more present, and enjoy the people I’m with. It was a rude awakening to all the work I needed to do on myself.
Gragson, who won 13 races in the Xfinity Series while driving for JR Motorsports and was the 2022 championship runner-up, had 21 Cup races with Legacy before its suspension. Legacy, now owned by Jimmie Johnson, was largely uncompetitive and Gragson had not posted a top-10 finish and was 33rd in the standings when he lost his job.
He doesn’t know why he hit the like button on Floyd’s meme in early August, but his journey of self-reflection has given Gragson some theories.
“I think my ignorance and lack of awareness put me in this position of liking that meme,” Gragson said. “I think with everything I’ve learned, I’m able to have situational awareness. I think at the time, it was laziness on social media. I don’t know why that showed up on my page, but I take responsibility for the lack of awareness and realize that I put myself in that situation and I want To become better than him.
He wasn’t sure he’d get another chance but he did get a seat at SHR, which was winless last season in the Cup Series and had to replace both Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola for 2024. Gragson will get Almirola’s seat.
SHR co-owner Tony Stewart, no stranger to controversy on and off the track itself, was willing to give Gragson a chance to return to racing.
“Noah deserves to be in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Stewart said. “Noah has performed at every level he has competed at and has regularly competed for the championship. “This is the type of driver we need at Stewart-Haas and that is why Noah is part of our team.”
Gragson is the grandson of Oran Gragson, mayor of Las Vegas from 1959 to 1974, whose father, Scott, pleaded guilty in 2020 to DUI causing death in a 2019 crash that killed the mother of three. Scott Gragson was sentenced to eight to twenty years in prison.
Gragson declined to discuss any effects his father’s condition had on his behavior, which appears to have become erratic after the fatal accident. The young man would get into physical confrontations on the track, and after victories, would often accept alcoholic beverages from fans in the stands to celebrate.
However, he admitted that seeing a psychologist would have helped him.
“It just takes me being honest with myself. I don’t want to get into too much detail, but with this situation, I’m definitely more honest with myself and accepting of the situation,” Gragson said. “It’s how you adapt and how you overcome adversity and challenges. “I feel like I’m still trying to learn life and learn how to do the right things and it’s been difficult, to say the least.”
“But now I feel confident with myself in all areas, including (with his father).”
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After facing a suspension from NASCAR for an off-track incident, Noah Gragson has been given a second chance to prove his potential in the sport. Following his suspension, Gragson embarked on a personal growth journey, focusing on bettering himself both on and off the track. Now, as he returns to the NASCAR circuit, Gragson is eager to showcase his growth and prove that he has learned from his past mistakes. This second chance represents a pivotal moment in Gragson’s career, and he’s determined to make the most of it.