Noah Gragson to drive No. 10 car for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024
Gragson was suspended by NASCAR in August for liking a social media meme mocking George Floyd's death
Noah Gragson will be back in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024.
The former Legacy Motor Club driver was announced Wednesday as Aric Almirola’s replacement in the No. 10 car at Stewart-Haas Racing for 2024 and beyond. Gragson competed in 21 races as a rookie in the Cup Series in 2023 before he was suspended by Legacy and NASCAR for liking an Instagram meme mocking the death of George Floyd.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing and while most people in the industry are happy that the offseason is here, I want to get started on 2024 and go racing as soon as I can,” Gragson said in a team statement. “Stewart-Haas is filled with racers and I saw that and felt it as soon as I walked onto the shop floor. There are high expectations here and a strong desire to compete and win races. I have high expectations for myself and I want to deliver for Tony and Gene and everyone at Stewart-Haas.”
Gragson was suspended by Legacy in early August and subsequently suspended by NASCAR. The team parted ways with Gragson not long after his suspension, and he didn’t compete in another race at any of NASCAR’s top three levels after he was reinstated by the sanctioning body in September.
Gragson, 25, had an average finish of 28th in his first year at NASCAR’s top level. He failed to score a top-10 finish in any of those races.
“Noah deserves to be in the NASCAR Cup Series and we’re very happy to have him as the driver of our No. 10 Ford Mustang,” SHR co-owner Tony Stewart said. “Noah has performed at every level where he’s competed and has regularly been in championship contention. That’s the kind of driver we need at Stewart-Haas and that’s why Noah is a part of our team.”
Before joining Legacy Motor Club, Gragson won 13 Xfinity Series races the past three seasons with JR Motorsports.
He replaces Almirola at Stewart-Haas after Almirola announced that he would step back from driving full-time in NASCAR. Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday that Almirola will compete part-time with the team in the Xfinity Series.
No sponsorship details were announced by SHR on Wednesday. Almirola’s longtime sponsor, Smithfield, exited NASCAR at the end of the 2023 season.
Gragson’s move to SHR marks the second time in the past four seasons that a NASCAR driver has been punished for racial insensitivity and then returned to the top level with a better team. Kyle Larson signed with Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season after he was fired from Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020 for publicly saying a racial slur during a sim race. Larson went on to win the 2021 Cup Series title in his first year at Hendrick.
SHR will now have an entire Cup Series team consisting of drivers who have less than five years of Cup Series experience. Chase Briscoe is the longest-tenured driver with the team, as he enters his fourth season at SHR, while Ryan Preece returns for his second season. Josh Berry was signed from JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series to replace the retiring Kevin Harvick.
Harvick was by far the best-performing SHR driver in 2023. He finished 13th in the points standings, while Almirola was 22nd, Preece was 23rd and Briscoe was 30th a year after finishing ninth.
