"Everybody is scared": Noah Gragson believes NASCAR drivers hide their true personality citing Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s $75,000 fine

Noah Gragson has suggested that he wants drivers to show more personality and not hide behind polished images. He cited Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s $75,000 fine and argued that fear of penalties silences many. The 27-year-old also said drivers feel "handcuffed" by sponsors or rules.

Gragson, who moved from Stewart-Haas Racing after his rookie season in 2024 to Front Row Motorsports, has had a challenging season with the No. 4 team and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. He has collected just three top-10 finishes so far, with one top-5 at the Talladega spring race in April.

Ahead of the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas, Gragson was asked if he would like other drivers to be more open on social media like him.

"I think there's a lot of good personalities that not a lot of people get to see because in the sense that drivers are handcuffed a little bit maybe with partners or with the sport. Ricky got fined $75,000 grand for probably one of the biggest highlights last year with Kyle Busch. I'm not saying we need to go fight and stuff, but I think everybody is just kind of scared that they just don't want to say anything or do anything at all just so they don't get in trouble," Noah Gragson said (via Speedway Digest).

Last year, Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch's post All-Star race confrontation led to a $75,000 fine for the former by NASCAR for violating its Code of Conduct. NASCAR also suspended two crew members and indefinitely suspended Stenhouse's father for interference in the brawl. The fine for that fight was the largest in NASCAR history for a post-race physical incident.

"Everyone is kind of in their own unique boat on how much they want to show the general public and what-not. But if it were up to me, everybody would just be outgoing and show them their true colors," he added.

Gragson, who has about 139K followers on Instagram, also shared his social media strategy and said that he wants to bring back a simpler 'old ways' style rather than overproduced content.

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Noah Gragson's odds at Vegas and Talladega

Noah Gragson is currently ranked 34th in the NASCAR Cup points standings and could try to land a strong finish at the upcoming playoff races. He has one top-10 finish at the 1.5-mile oval in Vegas. However, he suffered a DNF at the track this spring. The 27-year-old started 21st but was caught in an accident and finished 31st.

Talladega, which will host the second playoff race of the Round of 8 next week, turned in a strong run for him this spring. Gragson started 27th and finished 4th. The race featured 67 lead changes and multiple cautions. After post-race disqualifications of other drivers, Gragson claimed a top-5 finish.