Noah Gragson is currently using his second ticket to the Cup Series after being suspended in his rookie season last year. The Richmond Raceway event being his final race in 2023, he missed out on driving through certain iconic tracks. Amongst them is this Sunday’s venue, the Bristol Motor Speedway.
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Though Gragson has raced on the concrete surface in Xfinity cars and Trucks, the Next Gen car is a different game on many levels. Aware of the same, the Stewart-Haas Racing youngster has been making some much-needed preparations to face the challenges. He said to the media, as reported by Speedway Digest, that he has been behind the SIM a lot getting ready for Bristol.
Gragson’s revelations went, “Going there in a Cup car, it’s going to take constant learning and being aware all day and seeing how we can improve from the start of practice, qualifying, and the race. And then, hopefully, when we go back there for the night race in the fall, we can be even better and fire off with more confidence. But we’re going into it pretty open-minded right now.”
Noah Gragson currently pilots the #10 Ford Mustang that Aric Almirola used to drive before him. Four races into the 2024 season, he has proven to be a worthy replacement garnering two top-ten finishes already.
The Bristol race will be an opportunity for him to make a strong statement on his driving caliber and position at NASCAR’s top tier.
Concrete vs Dirt: Which version of the Bristol track does Noah Gragson prefer?
For all the potential that he has, Gragson hasn’t been that good a performer on the Bristol dirt track. Now that the speedway returns to the traditional concrete oval for its spring races, he couldn’t be more thrilled with the decision. He expressed how he’d always expected to finish last on the dirt track and that he was now really excited to go racing.
Gragson said, “I am definitely pumped up to have the concrete race because I was not ever a very good dirt guy. I ran alright at Eldora in the Truck Series, but Cup at Bristol in the dirt, I always struggled, so that was always a tough one.”
His latest race at Phoenix ended with him in 12th place. All evidence thus far leads to the #10 team being considered a playoff-worthy contender. It’ll have to be seen if Gragson keeps on this positive path that he has taken.
