“Struggled From the Get-Go”: Noah Gragson’s Damning Verdict on NASCAR Struggle in Texas

Just when it seemed like at least a few names in the Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) camp might catch a break, a weekend like the one in COTA happens. Sunday’s race saw Tony Stewart’s drivers struggle to get ahead and match the speed of their fellow contenders. Chase Briscoe was the team’s best driver on the day, finishing in 13th place. Surprisingly, Noah Gragson, who was quite adept in the season’s initial races, struggled the most in Austin.

Driving the #10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, he finished the race in 34th place, one spot above his teammate Josh Berry. “We struggled from the get-go,” he told the press, according to NBC Sports. “We made some spots up at the beginning of the race and then fell back. Was kind of off the pace and knew we were probably worse than we were in practice.

Final from COTA. pic.twitter.com/vQ41Q39q2a

— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) March 24, 2024

“So, we decided to come down pit road at the end of stage two and make some extensive changes to the setup, just wholesaling it and throwing everything we could at it.” The changes however did not help his cause and he ended up limping across the checkered flag. “A long day with nothing to show for it,” he said. Notably, Gragson has two top-ten finishes this season so far.

However, his 34th-place finishes in Bristol and COTA over the last two Sundays have put him and the rest of his team in a tight spot going into the season. He currently sits in 34th place in the driver standings as well, the lowest in the Stewart-Haas Racing garage.

Gragson is pleased to be driving alongside his teammates at SHR

As things stand, Gragson has had three good races and three bad ones in the 2024 season. He told before the race in Bristol that his performance had exceeded his expectations. It is unsure how much of that thought remains in his head after the last two races. One aspect of driving the #10 Mustang he doesn’t have to be worried about though is chemistry in the race shop. The four drivers of Tony Stewart have been getting along well since the off-season.

The youngest of the four, Gragson said, as reported by Sportsnaut, “I don’t know if I will ever get back to having the kind of group we had in 2022 at JR Motorsports, because that was as tight of a group as you could ever have, but I feel like this group can get there.” The four drivers will next race together at the Richmond Raceway, the third short track on the calendar.