CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Noah Gragson has spent the final 5 months engaged on private progress and maturity after his “like” of an insensitive meme of George Floyd practically price him his NASCAR profession.
He’ll get an opportunity to indicate if he’s really advanced with Stewart-Haas Racing, which mentioned Wednesday it has employed Gragson to drive the No. 10 Ford within the Cup Series. It’s a second likelihood Gragson just isn’t taking evenly after his profession imploded in August.
Social media customers famous {that a} meme circulating of Floyd, a Black man who was killed in 2020 by white law enforcement officials, had been “liked” by Gragson. NASCAR suspended the 25-12 months-previous and he parted methods with Legacy Motor Club, which had employed the Las Vegas native for his first full season racing within the prime Cup stage.
Gragson, who had constructed a status as an aggressive driver each on and off the observe within the second-tier Xfinity Series, reached out to good pal Brandon McReynolds and questioned why every thing was falling aside in his life.
“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 ‘Hey buddy, I’m going to tell you this because you’re like a little brother to me, but it’s time you grow up and it’s time you take accountability and you allow yourself to take this opportunity to work on yourself and self reflect.’”
And that’s what Gragson did throughout his suspension, during which he needed to work by a sensitivity coaching course with NASCAR but additionally sought skilled assist with a psychologist. Gragson mentioned the work he’s put in over the past 5 months has been life-altering.
“It has brought a tremendous amount of self-awareness to myself, self-reflection, and ultimately it opened my eyes to the world and showed me I was a pretty selfish guy,” Gragson mentioned. “I’ve learned to pay more attention, be more present, enjoy the people I’m with. This has really been a rude awakening of all the work I needed to do on myself.”
Gragson, who received 13 races within the Xfinity Series driving for JR Motorsports and was the 2022 championship runner-up, ran 21 races in Cup with Legacy earlier than his suspension. Legacy, now co-owned by Jimmie Johnson, was dramatically uncompetitive and Gragson didn’t rating a single prime-10 end and was thirty third within the standings when he misplaced his job.
He doesn’t know why he hit the like button on the Floyd meme in early August, however his journey of self-reflection has given Gragson some theories.
“I think my ignorance and lack of awareness put me in that position to like that meme,” Gragson mentioned. “I think through everything I’ve learned, I’m able to have situational awareness. I think at that time, it was laziness on social media. I don’t know why it came up on my page, but I take accountability for the lack of awareness and realize I put myself in that position and want to become better from it.”
He wasn’t positive he’d get one other likelihood however landed a seat at SHR, which was winless final season within the Cup Series and needed to exchange each Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola for 2024. Gragson is getting Almirola’s seat.
SHR co-proprietor Tony Stewart, no stranger to controversy on and off the observe himself, was keen to provide Gragson a gap to return to racing.
“Noah deserves to be in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Stewart mentioned. “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 is the nice-grandson of Oran Gragson, the Mayor of Las Vegas from 1959 to 1974, and his father, Scott, in 2020 pleaded responsible to DUI inflicting demise for a 2019 crash that killed a mom of three. Scott Gragson was sentenced to eight to twenty years in jail.
Gragson declined to debate any results his father’s scenario had on his personal conduct, which seemingly turned erratic after the deadly crash. The teenager was in bodily confrontations on the observe, and, after wins, would typically settle for alcoholic drinks from followers within the stands to have fun.
He did, nonetheless, acknowledge that seeing a psychologist then would have benefited him.
“It just takes becoming honest with myself. I don’t want to get into too much detail, but with that situation, it’s definitely something that I’ve become more honest with myself and accepting of the situation,” Gragson mentioned. “It’s how you adapt and how you overcome the 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 tough, to say the least.
“But right now I feel confident with myself in all avenues, including that one (with his father).”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
