DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 15: Noah Gragson, driver of the #42 Wendy’s Chevrolet, looks on … [+]
NASCAR has reinstated driver Noah Gragson after he completed a program mandated by the sport. NASCAR originally suspended Gragson indefinitely in August after screenshots surfaced that seemed to show Gragson “liking” a meme on Instagram making light of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 drew widespread outrage.
The screenshots surfaced the day before the race in Michigan and by that afternoon the team and NASCAR announced their sanctions and Gragson had posted an apology on X the platform previously known as Twitter.
At the time Gragson had been racing for Legacy Motor Club in NASCAR’s Cup series and the team suspended the driver.
Days later, however, Gragson asked for his release from the team.
Since Gragson left the team Legacy has been using a mix of substitute drivers and recently announced that John Hunter Nemechek will take over as the team’s fulltime driver in the No. 42 starting next season.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to NASCAR for reinstating me,” Gragson said in a statement. “Over the past several weeks, I have dedicated myself to personal growth and reflection, and I believe I have become a better person because of it. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and the NASCAR industry.
“I am now more focused and committed than ever to representing my future team in the best way possible. I’m eager to get back behind the wheel and compete at the highest level, giving it my all on and off the track. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey, and I can’t wait to make the most of this second chance.”
As for his future, Gragson has no plans in NASCAR, but will be racing in the ASA series this weekend in Toledo, Ohio.
The Las Vegas native was in his first full season at the Cup level and was competing for NASCAR Rookie of the Year. While he did win 8 races in 2022 in the NASCAR Xfinity series, this season at Legacy his best finish was 12th at Atlanta in the spring race. If the remaining 21 races he has not finished outside the top 20 and has an average finish of 28.2. In 2022, Gragson raced with Kaulig Racing in the Cup series part-time entering 18 races scoring a top 5 finish at the August race at Daytona with an overall average finish of 23.1.
In 2020 Kyle Larson was suspended by NASCAR for using a racial slur during an online game. After his reinstatement Larson moved to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, winning 10 races and the NASCAR Cup series title that same year.
When Gragson asked for his release from the team Legacy Motor Club CEO felt the driver had a bright future.
“Noah has a ton of talent and has a great personality,” Wells said. “This is a difficult situation, but we are proud that Noah has taken ownership of his actions and are confident he will work through this process with NASCAR and come back stronger.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2023/09/12/nascars-noah-gragson-could-come-back-stronger-after-reinstatement/