Noah Gragson Q&A

Q&A with NOAH GRAGSON

CHARISMATIC DRIVER ISN’T AFRAID TO SHOW HIS PERSONALITY

BY JARED TURNER

Noah Gragson is going to be an especially busy man this season. In addition to running his fourth full NASCAR Xfinity Series season in the No. 9 Chevrolet of JR Motorsports, Gragson will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in a part-time role with Kaulig Racing as he shares the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro with reigning Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric and veteran A.J. Allmendinger.

Find out how Gragson is feeling about his hectic schedule and much more in this wide-ranging exclusive interview.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO TACKLE YOUR 2022 SCHEDULE?

I’m going to have to be very selfish in the way I’m managing my time. It’s a big commitment, and there’s a lot of people that rely on me performing at my peak. Instead of hanging out with friends and maybe being up until 10 o’clock at night and whatnot, I’m going to have to be pretty selfish and really prioritize to make sure I’m at my best.

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE GROWING UP IN LAS VEGAS?

It was fairly normal. It’s like in any other city or town – outside of The Strip. We would go down to The Strip maybe five or six times a year, but you’re not really going down there too much as someone who lives there. Now when I go visit, I’ll go down there with some friends and stuff and maybe go play Blackjack, but as a kid, it’s fairly normal. You ride your bike every day and go out dirt-biking and skateboarding and doing whatever.

WHAT’S IT LIKE HAVING DALE EARNHARDT JR. AS A BOSS AT JR MOTORSPORTS?

It’s great to be able to call him more of a mentor of mine within the company. He’s kind of got a different role than it might seem, but he’s always been there if I ever need anything. So it’s great to be able to work with him. Obviously, watching him on TV and being a fan of his when I was younger, that’s cool for a little bit, and then it becomes more of a reality of, “Hey, you’re working with this guy now and sometimes even racing with him and trying to beat him.” It takes that fan side away from you, and it’s more of that coworker/work vibe, I guess, but he’s been a great mentor to myself and helped tremendously throughout my career.

WHO WERE YOUR RACING HEROES GROWING UP?

Travis Pastrana (action sports legend and X Games gold medalist). I just always liked Travis. A cool guy, and I liked the way he carries himself and stuff. That’s how I’ve always wanted to be. He’s just always smiling and having a good time and enjoying the moment. That’s what I’ve really taken from him and tried to be like.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY?

I grew up doing action sports. I started racing when I was 13 years old in Bandoleros out in Las Vegas. Before that and still even to this day, I’ve always been an adrenaline junkie. What kind of gets my blood pumping is action sports and scaring myself. So whether it be jumping on my mountain bike or snowboarding, skateboarding, whatever there is – wake surfing, going in the ocean and surfing – stuff that’s kind of unpredictable where you have to adapt on the fly, that’s what I enjoy, and that’s what makes me feel alive. I feel like I’ve got to scare myself to really live life to the fullest, and I really enjoy all those kind of activities. … Just doing anything I can to be outside and scaring myself, that’s what I love.

THIRTY YEARS FROM NOW, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

I hope to be remembered, obviously, but I don’t have, really, a clue. Obviously, you set goals and stuff to hopefully be racing or doing something involved with racing. I always told myself I’d like to make a living racing cars – whether it be racing go-karts or in the Cup Series or whatever. That’s how I feel like you make it in racing is you’re able to make a living out of it and continue that for 15 or 20 years. There’s a lot of people who help get you to that point, and, hopefully, you’ll be remembered and make all those people that are involved proud.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

They’d move the championship race back to Homestead (MiamiSpeedway). … That’s what keeps me up at night.

NOAH GRAGSON NASCAR XFINITY SERIES TRAVIS PASTRANA NITRO CIRCUS

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