Stewart-Haas Racing revealed the final driver in its NASCAR Cup Series stable for the 2024 season on Wednesday, and with the announcement the last major domino has officially fallen in NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season.
Noah Gragson will pilot the team's No. 10 Ford Mustang in a multiyear agreement. Gragson will join a driver roster that includes Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, and Ryan Preece.
The team made the announcement in the form of a video share to its account on X, formerly Twitter.
Gragson will be paired with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer in 2024. The driver is excited and grateful for his 2024 opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing.
“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 release. “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 fits the mold of drivers that have been added to SHR over the last few seasons, as the team is focused on strictly driving talent, not marketing dollars.
“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,” said Tony Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer who co-owns Stewart-Haas with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “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.”
Gragson, 25, had scored 13 wins in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition over three seasons with JR Motorsports before moving to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time with the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team in 2023.
LMC, which came up just shy of the Playoffs with Erik Jones in the No. 43 entry in 2022, was expected to contend for Playoff spots with both cars in 2023.
Those hopes never came to fruition, and Gragson struggled mightily in his tenure with the organization. Gragson scored his best finish, a 12th-place effort, early in the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It would be the only top-15 finish of the year for the young racer.
Gragson would suffer from concussion-like symptoms after a hard crash at World Wide Technology Raceway in June, which would sideline him for a race.
The driver would return for six more races before being suspended by the team, and eventually NASCAR after a social media transgression had been publicly unearthed.
Gragson parted ways with the team, and focused on getting his life, and image back on the correct path. After completing NASCAR Sensitivity training, Gragson was officially reinstated by NASCAR on September 12th.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to NASCAR for reinstating me,” Gragson said at the time of his reinstatement. “Over the past several weeks, I have dedicated myself to personal growth and reflection, and I believe I have become a better person because of it.
“I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and the NASCAR industry. I am now more focused and committed than ever to representing my future team in the best way possible. I’m eager to get back behind the wheel and compete at the highest level, giving it my all on and off the track. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey, and I can’t wait to make the most of this second chance.”
Now, several months later, Gragson has another chance at the NASCAR Cup Series, a shot he likely won't take for granted. He'll attempt to write his redemption story through the duration of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
“I race to win and winning at the Cup level is what I’ve been working toward since I started racing Bandoleros as a 13-year-old at the Bullring in Las Vegas,” Gragson said. “To be with an established team with a history of winning is what every driver wants. I’ve got exactly that here at Stewart-Haas and I aim to make the most of it.”
Photo Credit: Craig White, Racing America
