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Stewart-Haas Racing driver Noah Gragson's start to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has gone well for a driver who was without a drive in the sport last year. Gragson has managed to bounce back from his suspension from Jimmie Johnson's Legacy Motor Club as well as NASCAR on account of a violation of the sport's code of conduct by liking a racial meme on social media.
The #10 Ford Mustang driver has proven to be the most consistent driver from Tony Stewart's racing outfit so far. Gragson has managed to score a top-10 finish twice before running at Phoenix Raceway last weekend. The Shriners Children's 500 last Sunday saw the Las Vegas, Nevada, native run inside the top 10 for the majority of the event before settling into a P12 finish.
Elaborating on how the atmosphere has been at SHR and how he has been adapting to a new team, Noah Gragson told motorsport.com:
"I have a lot of faith in Drew and the rest of these guys. They have been really good for me in building my confidence. It is always a lot of fun when your stuff has speed, and you can show up and commit your hands and drive into the corner hard. It is a lot of confidence coming to the race track compared to what I had last year at this time."
Reminiscing on a positive day out on track, it remains to be seen if Gragson can carry the same confidence and momentum into Bristol Motor Speedway next Sunday as NASCAR prepares to race at 'The Last Great Coliseum'.
Noah Gragson's views on NASCAR's new short-track aero package
NASCAR debuted the latest iteration of its short track and road course aero package aimed at reducing dirty air for drivers following other cars on certain types of racetracks.
With the package making its debut at Phoenix Raceway, a 1-mile-long track notorious for difficulty in overtaking, many drivers spoke against the package in terms of real-world performance improvement.
SHR's Noah Gragson seemed to warm up to the package, however, as the 25-year-old driver elaborated to motorsport.com:
"For me, this thing drove super good compared to what I have had in the past here. I don’t know if it was the package last year or what. You probably have to ask some more experienced guys. I felt good with it. I felt like we could move around a lot and the tire was good."
NASCAR goes live next Sunday from Bristol Motor Speedway for the 2024 Food City 500 at 3:30 pm ET.
