feature-image

Imago

feature-image

Imago

It looks like revealing the ‘waxing moon’ theory was not enough for this duo. Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe are back to give away secrets from the NASCAR grid on camera. They recently appeared on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast to reveal a new superstition: how they dress up before races.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

“Racecar drivers, they all typically, before race day, only sleep with their right sock on to keep their gas pedal foot warm,” Briscoe claimed. Gragson chimed in: “My left foot, I never get athlete’s feet on. But I always got to keep a sock on my right foot. Yeah, like if I am in flip-flops, socks on my right foot.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The two NASCAR drivers further claimed that a veteran taught them this specific trick. Briscoe applies the ritual to road courses, wearing both socks since braking requires his left foot.

So who is the mastermind behind the “right-foot sock” theory? Gragson claims it was Tony Stewart. While mentoring the duo at Stewart-Haas Racing, Stewart allegedly also mentored them on how to wear socks. Stewart has not publicly confirmed the sock ritual. But in an old interview, he did claim that he was superstitious to an extent.

ADVERTISEMENT

In an ESPN interview, Stewart revealed he eats the same meal, dons his belt and helmet identically — all part of a pre-race routine.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gragson and Briscoe have already wreaked a lot of havoc on the grid with their ‘waxing moon’ theory. Right before the Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, Gragson claimed the moon phase affects the handling of race cars.

“Something to do with like the gravitational pull. Like we have to adjust the car and raise the ride heights because of the gravitational pull, like the moon phase; it just puts more load into the car, and then we have more grip,” he claims as common knowledge on the grid.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chaos and wrecks marked the Texas Motor Speedway weekend, fueling speculation about the superstition’s validity. While Stewart has not confirmed the sock teaching, he has shared superstitions with Dale Earnhardt.

No $50 bills for Tony Stewart, please!

NASCAR star Joe Weatherly unfortunately lost his life at the Riverside International Speedway in 1964. Per rumors, his friend had given him two $50 bills before the race. Since then, many NASCAR drivers have avoided keeping or touching $50 bills.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dale Earnhardt Sr., in particular, was serious about this superstition. In fact, when Stewart tried to hand him a $50 bill while he was seated in a racecar, he panicked. Richard Childress had to step in to stop Stewart from moving forward any further.

ADVERTISEMENT

Stewart, who didn’t believe in the superstition at first, now does because of what happened during the race at Martinsville.

“That is the same day that Kenny Irwin and I had our big scrap,” Stewart said. “And that changed everything for me as well. Not in a great way. So, I mean, I am superstitious as all get out. I do not want to touch a $50 bill. I literally almost got a lady fired from Joe Gibbs Racing for putting $50 bills in per diem.”

That escalated quickly. Well, it’s safe to say that Gragson and Briscoe’s allegations about Stewart giving them superstitious advice do not sound far-fetched. Maybe the next time Stewart makes a public appearance, he could clarify the rationale behind it or counter it.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Rohan Singh

447 Articles

Rohan Singh is a NASCAR Writer at Essentially Sports who is accustomed to conveying his passion for motorsports to a large audience. He has previously created driver and event pages for NASCAR legends like Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and the Crown Jewel events of the sport like the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. As a writer, Rohan uses his understanding of the technical concepts of engineering to deconstruct the complex and highly technological motorsports vertical for his audience. He fell in love with motorsports in 2013, watching Sebastian Vettel claim his crown in India, and since then, he has been pursuing motorsports as his lifelong goal. Armed with the technical know-how and engineering expertise of a Mechanical Engineering degree, and pairing it with his journalistic experience of more than 600 articles in motorsports, Rohan likes to reel in his audience by simplifying the technicalities of the sport and authoring content which appeals to them as a dedicated motorsports fan himself.

Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Abhimanyu Gupta

ADVERTISEMENT