Dale Earnhardt Jr: Noah Gragson is ‘the fly that won’t leave you alone’

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among the consumers of the NASCAR Cup Series who have been pleasantly surprising with Noah Gragson in 2024.

Even though Earnhardt Jr. was Gragson’s team-owner for his Xfinity Series highlights, the freshly minted Stewart-Haas Racing wheelman has exceeded everyone’s expectations thus far. During the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt Jr. spoke on what’s changed for Gragson.

“Another driver that’s been a big surprise this year, Noah Gragson,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The guy was, you know, knocked out of the series entirely last year. Didn’t do anything behind the wheel of the No. 42 car that would warrant any excitement around you know, his potential future as a Cup driver. He gets a new opportunity at Stewart-Haas Racing, a team that flat struggled all last year. There’s been some struggles as well this year. There’s been some other high points, but Noah has been the shining light.

“The you know, the best performing car by far, in my opinion. I know that [Chase] Briscoe outran him in the final result, but Noah, his average running position throughout these races has been really good.”

If it weren’t for a points penalty due to an infraction on multiple Stewart-Haas Racing cars, Gragson would be firmly planted in the upper-tier in regards to the Cup Series point standings. Nevertheless, Earnhardt Jr. is happy to see Gragson having some success, and likened it to his fly-like attitude on the track.

“There’s another thing I want to say about Noah. So Noah raced for us, here at JR Motorsports. I know what kind of guy he is out on the race track, and you know, he doesn’t mind — he’s the kind of player that’s going to elbow you when he’s boxing you out for a rebound. He’s that kind of guy, right. And so he does, he drives that way. Yeah. And he ruffles — he can aggravate you, ruffle your feathers. He’s gonna use you up a little bit. Take advantage of you on the racetrack. That’s his style. That’s fine,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “But when you get in the Cup series, you’ve got to be a little measured about doing that with the Cup guys, because they love to set a rookie straight. I know he’s not a rookie anymore, but they love to see young guys. They can’t wait to teach them a lesson. They think that’s that’s the veteran thing. Right? ‘Oh man, teach his rookie lesson.’ They love that.

“Noah, he’s been running around the top ten. He’s like that fly that won’t leave you alone. ‘Come on, you don’t belong up here.’ It’s just bugging you, just aggravating us. But he’s been doing it so well, and so respectfully. Yes, he races the hell out of you. You have to. That’s the new etiquette across the board and the series. So he doesn’t stand out in that regard. But I watch him, I watched him run laps in the past several weeks. And while he’s hassling all these guys in the backside of the top ten, he’s doing it without getting under their skin, which is really, really important. And so he’s gaining respect, and he’s gaining the ability to belong in that top ten, right? Soon, he won’t be that fly they’re trying to shoo away. So, I’m hoping that this continues, and what a great story would be if he could have this you know this type of success throughout the year.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr on Noah Gragson, Stewart-Haas Racing: ‘I think they will get better’

Moreover, Earnhardt Jr. recognizes that Gragson isn’t all the way where he wants to be yet. He still believes there’s going to be times where Gragson’s inexperience will show, but he can still find major success in 2024.

“I think his inexperience is going to show a few moments during the year, and the struggles that the team inherently has,” the NASCAR Hall of Famer delineated. “They’re better. I think that Stewart-Haas has improved. I love that Tony Stewart, you know, got in there this offseason and said, ‘Hey, we don’t want to run this way. We want to be better.’ I love that. I think they will get better.

“They’re not all the way. And I think some of that’s going to affect Noah. Some of his inexperience ultimately will affect results. But take all that away, and I think we’re really seeing some pretty neat things here, out of the No. 10 car.”

When asked to elaborated, Earnhardt Jr. pointed out some little fundamental things, but they’re areas where Gragson will need to improve moving forward, likening some potential struggles to what we’ve seen Gragson’s teammate Josh Berry go through.

“Mistakes on speeding pit road, right? The little stuff. The fundamentals,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “And I think too, he’s drove this car enough, maybe he has, but there’s some situations aerodynamically that you put yourself in with this car that can be problematic, right? It could could bite him, right? I saw that. I watched Josh Berry right, kind of jump in a Cup car and have to figure out this thing. And it was like, all these aerodynamic things happening out there that he had not experienced ever, because he’d never drove a car with a diffuser. He never drove a car with a race splitter. All those things, right. And so how to make this car handle, how to keep it how to drive it into the corner, is all different than what he’s done his entire life.

“So I don’t know that Noah knows all of that. Might find himself in some situations there. But I’m hoping that things continue forward for him.”

It’s evident Noah Gragson has a fan in Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he’ll continue making more if he keeps on performing the way he has throughout the NASCAR Cup Series campaign in 2024.