Noah Gragson wrapped up his first [complete] full-time NASCAR Cup season ranked 24th with Stewart-Haas Racing, notching one top-5 and six top-10 finishes. But since SHR has now closed its operations, he will transition to Front Row Motorsports to drive the #4 Ford, along with his former crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer. Gragson is enthusiastic about the prospects this change holds.
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Discussing the dynamics of his new team, while retaining continuity with the same crew chief and manufacturer, Gragson reflected on the blend of familiarity and novelty this season brings.
He remarked, “There’s a lot of comfort being with the same crew chief and same manufacturer but there’s some newness to it too. Moving over to Front Row Motorsports here for the season. It’s gonna be a fun time. I’m excited for it. We still have our standards and we’ve upped our standards from where we were last year…”
Speaking further, Gragson credited his crew chief with shaping his current skills, saying “He [Blickensderfer] was able to really guide me into the driver that I am right now and we want to keep on building on that into this season. So, some new faces on the team, some familiar faces from last year as well. So, we got a mixed group.”
Noah Gragson has the same crew chief and manufacturer but is at a new team as the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver is now at Front Row Motorsports. So how much change is there? He explains: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/IEWaHzLpUf
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 5, 2025
Noah is confident that the methodologies implemented by his former #10 team at Stewart-Haas Racing last season will be successfully transferred to his new team at Front Row Motorsports, where he intends to further enhance these standards.
Previously, the #4 car was helmed by the venerable Kevin Harvick, renowned for his strong driving style. Gragson, similarly, has made a name for himself within NASCAR as one of the sport’s most aggressive and committed drivers — a seamless match for a car number that epitomizes both determination and distinction. At 26, Gragson’s reputation aligns perfectly with the legacy of grit that the #4 car represents.
Gragson’s crew chief mirrors his excitement for the upcoming season
This season Drew Blickensderfer will lead Gragson at Front Row Motorsports, although, his tenure with the team isn’t new. Blickensderfer previously guided the #34 team at FRM, helping Michael McDowell to a Daytona 500 win in February 2021 after joining the team at the start of 2019.
He left FRM at the end of 2021 to pursue other opportunities, and by January 2022, he was appointed crew chief for the #10 team at Stewart-Haas Racing, then piloted by Aric Almirola. Thereafter, he worked with Gragson as a crew chief in 2023 when the driver took over the seat from Almirola and now he’s back to FRM.
Discussing the upcoming challenges on SiriusXM NASCAR, Blickensderfer expressed, “I’m Super happy with our team. It’s very strong. Everybody believed everything was going to be okay. It helps, I could say that. My blood pressure will be slightly less at Daytona than it probably would have been. But I’m just worried about trying to build the fastest race car and let Noah prove to everybody how good he is.”
In his 59 Cup Series starts, Gragson has shown a lot of potential, securing seven top-10s and two top-5 finishes. It will be intriguing to see how he adapts this season under familiar leadership but in a different team environment.
