.@NoahGragson‘s race is over after this incident on Lap 14. #PAGetaway400 pic.twitter.com/xd47IXSVgO
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 14, 2024
Noah Gragson, who announced his plans to move to Front Row Motorsports in 2025 on a multi-year contract earlier this week, suffered an early end to his day in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.
On Lap 14, Gragson lost control of his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Turn 1 of the 2.5-mile triangular race track. As he spun, Gragson’s No. 10 machine backed toward the outside wall. The end result was a massive rear-end impact for Gragson.
As he skidded to the bottom of the track, Gragson saw his day come to an end after completing just 13 laps on the day. He will be credited with a 37th-place finish on the day.
After the hard crash, Gragson was evaluated and released from the infield care center with a clean bill of health, which is the good news. The bad news, Gragson was very disappointed in himself for simply loosing it on his own in Turn 1.
“I just got loose in turn one. We were battling and just got loose. Nobody got into me. I was all alone. I was just trying to make it until we got to the caution and could tighten it up a little bit but it just took off on me,” Gragson explained. “It is definitely a bummer being out super early in the race but thanks to Overstock.com, and this whole 10 team. It hasn’t really been the weekend we hoped for through practice and qualifying and now into the race being out so early. Thanks to all the fans for their support. We will go on to Indy. Indy will be fun next week.”
Despite the early exit on Sunday, Gragson has impressed in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing. The 25-year-old driver has a top-five finish and six top-10s through the opening 21 races of the season. Sunday’s early exit at Pocono Raceway will mark just the third DNF of the year for Gragson, who is in the midst of his second season of NASCAR Cup Series competition.
