Gragson, 25, had an abbreviated and difficult rookie Cup season in 2023 at Legacy Motor Club – he was suspended and then later reinstated by NASCAR following a violation of its code of conduct.
In December, Stewart-Haas Racing announced it had hired the Las Vegas native to compete full-time in the Cup Series and drive its No. 10 Fords beginning with the 2024 season.
Gragson returns this year with a new team, new crew, new crew chief in Drew Blickensderfer and perhaps a new opportunity to kick start his Cup career.
“That’s one of the things that I’ve been working on is just balancing life, and how I balance work from time to relax. Everything is about balance no matter what it is,” Gragson said Wednesday at Daytona 500 Media Day.
“One thing that I’m learning is balance and being a leader for a race team and how not only do my words influence others, but my body language and just everything (and) being more self-aware has been a big part of finding myself and my process.
“It’s not always going to be perfect and I’m not perfect by any means, but I continue to try and learn and grow each and every day and become better than I was yesterday.”
Gragson has certainly shown he has the talent to have a successful NASCAR career.
He owns a pair of wins in the Truck Series and finished second in the 2018 series standings. In 135 Xfinity Series starts, Gragson amassed 13 wins behind 62 top-five and 96 top-10 finishes. He never finished worse than eighth in the standings in his four full-time seasons.
Gragson’s bumpy experience in the Cup series has helped him appreciate how much effort goes into a driver’s performance on Sunday – whether those contributions come at the track or back at the shop.
“No matter what the driver is there are hundreds of people behind those drivers that allow us to do this and everybody in those race shops, everybody that supports them from a close relationship standpoint, management, logistics, there’s a lot that goes into it,” he said.
“Yeah, the drivers get all the credit, but I put a lot of pressure on myself at the end of the day to be successful for those that work hard. It’s a privilege to be able to go out here and race, and I’ve regained my love for this sport, where I might have lost appreciation over the past handful of years than what I had as a kid.
“I’ve re-found that love for it and I’m just grateful to be back and get to work.”
Gragson’s addition to SHR comes at a crucial time for the organization. The four-car Cup organization has struggled with performance the last couple seasons and none of its four drivers won a race in 2023.
SHR’s contract with Ford Performance is up at the end of the 2024 season and the team is hoping the new ‘Dark Horse’ model Ford Mustang will assist in a turnaround.
“There’s no denying the fact that they struggled. It’s challenging, but I think we use it as motivation,” Gragson said. “We all want to be leaders. We all want to be the best teammates possible, and we all want to work together to be a part of this deal.
“It takes everyone’s effort and if we can be better than we were yesterday, that’s how we’re going to be successful in the long run.”
