Noah Gragson Going to Backup Car for Daytona 500
9 months agoNoah Gragson makes his full-time debut as a driver for Stewart-Haas Racing in the season-opening Daytona 500, but neither he nor the SHR cars in general have shown much speed in either practice or qualifying this weekend. Gragson qualified 16th behind most other Fords and crashed in his Duel race. Gragson's return to the NASCAR Cup Series after his suspension has been a struggle as he was very slow in the Clash at the L.A. Coliseum, finishing four laps down. Although his crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, has been very strong at drafting tracks, winning the Daytona 500 with Matt Kenseth in 2009 and in 2021 with Michael McDowell, Gragson's lack of speed in the Cup Series, Ford's lack of speed in the Duels, and Gragson having to go to a backup car should combine to make Gragson an extreme longshot who will need to rely on attrition for a good finish.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference