NASCAR News: Gragson to drive #10 SHR Ford

Stewart-Haas Racing has signed driver Noah Gragson to a multiyear agreement that will see the 25-year-old Las Vegas native pilot the team’s No. 10 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning in 2024.

Gragson is a 13-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – the stepping-stone division to the elite Cup Series – and has made 39 Cup Series starts over the course of two seasons (2022-2023) with a best finish of fifth in the 2022 regular-season finale at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

“Noah deserves to be in the NASCAR Cup Series and we’re very happy to have him as the driver of our No. 10 Ford Mustang,” said Tony Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer who co-owns Stewart-Haas with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “Noah has performed at every level where he’s competed and has regularly been in championship contention. That’s the kind of driver we need at Stewart-Haas and that’s why Noah is a part of our team.”

In four fulltime seasons in the Xfinity Series (2019-2022), Gragson finished among the top-10 in points each year and made it to the Championship 4 twice, finishing third in 2021 and second in 2022 with a series-high eight victories.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing and while most people in the industry are happy that the offseason is here, I want to get started on 2024 and go racing as soon as I can,” Gragson said. “Stewart-Haas is filled with racers and I saw that and felt it as soon as I walked onto the shop floor. There are high expectations here and a strong desire to compete and win races. I have high expectations for myself and I want to deliver for Tony and Gene and everyone at Stewart-Haas.”

Before joining the Xfinity Series fulltime in 2019, Gragson competed in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2017 and 2018. He won twice and finished second in the 2018 championship. Those Truck Series results were a continuation of the kind of talent Gragson showcased in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. In 2015 and 2016, Gragson raced in this developmental league, regionally split into two divisions – K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West. Gragson won six races between the two entities and narrowly missed out on the 2015 West title by a scant seven points. Gragson also owns victories in two of the United States’ most prestigious Late Model races – the 2017 Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and the 2018 Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

“I race to win and winning at the Cup level is what I’ve been working toward since I started racing Bandoleros as a 13-year-old at the Bullring in Las Vegas,” Gragson said. “To be with an established team with a history of winning is what every driver wants. I’ve got exactly that here at Stewart-Haas and I aim to make the most of it.”

Paired with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, Gragson will make his debut in the No. 10 Ford Mustang during the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum on Feb. 4 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before kicking off his 36-race slate of points-paying events with the 66th Daytona 500 on Feb. 18 at Daytona. Both events will be broadcast live on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.