Noah Gragson compares time at Legacy Motor Club to Stewart-Haas Racing: ‘I was driving over my head’ last year

Noah Gragson has turned some heads with his performance at Stewart-Haas Racing thus far in 2024.

After a disastrous stint in the No. 42 for Legacy Motor Club in 2023, Gragson was lost, without a seat and wondering when his next opportunity would come in the Cup Series. During an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Gragson was candid, explaining why he simply wasn’t ready at this time last season.

“There’s a lot of reasons why last year just didn’t work,” Gragson relented. “We had some guys from JR Motorsports that came with us, so it wasn’t a lack of communication by any means. It’s just, the cars at Stewart-Haas, they’ve got really good pace. As a driver, that allows you to be more patient, because you know that you’re going to have more than one opportunity to pass a car, instead of just taking the first opportunity, when you might not have as much pace.

“You have to try and take every opportunity, and I was driving over my head quite a bit last year, just trying to keep up.”

While last season was rough, a new opportunity arose when Aric Almirola vacated the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, and Gragson got the call. After a P6 finish in Las Vegas, it seems like the winds of change are blowing for Gragson.

“This past Sunday at Vegas, that’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a Cup Series race,” the Stewart-Haas wheelman added. “Just because I was able to pass cars. I was able to, I wasn’t just scared to death I guess, driving the thing.

“I felt confident in the car, and confident that I could make a move, and the car was going to stick. That was really one of the first times I’ve had that in a Cup Series car.”

In addition to his P6 in Las Vegas, Gragson is proud of the way his team has stuck together, as he’s seemingly turned over a new leaf in the Cup Series.

“It’s huge, it’s huge,” Gragson said of his finish on Sunday, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I’m really proud of this Fanttik group at Stewart-Haas Racing. There’s been some challenges this year but there’s also been some good things too. Top-10 at Daytona, we only got a lap in last week and had the troubles with the roof rails. That was a bummer, but we just want to keep on being better than we were yesterday. Keep learning and progressing. 

“This group, I think we’ve got the tightest group in the garage. This is good for our confidence but we’re not going to get content, we’re going to keep working hard each and every day, clean some stuff up on my part, team did an awesome job, and we’re just going to continue to grow.”

Alas, Noah Gragson’s talent has always been there, as we saw it in droves during his time in the Xfinity Series. We’ll see if he can keep up his good work over the course of a full season, but the early returns of Gragson in the No. 10 are promising.