Stewart-Haas Racing faced a series of hiccups last year after two of its veteran drivers left. Kevin Harvick retired and joined broadcasting, while Aric Almirola shifted his allegiance to Joe Gibbs Racing. Last year, Tony Stewart demonstrated a lot of faith by inducting Noah Gragson into their fold, while he was still sore from a suspension in his first-ever full-time Cup year.

However, Gragson is bringing results to Stewart in his No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Bristol race also seems to hold high hopes for him. He had clinched two Xfinity victories at the half-mile track, along with a really cool award.

Noah Gragson shows off a martial trophy from Bristol Xfinity

Controversy and suspension troubles hung over Gragson’s career in 2023 like a dark cloud. While everybody was doubting his talents, Tony Stewart was not blinded by the negativity. There is a reason why he believed in Gragson’s driving ability. Gragson holds six Xfinity starts at Bristol, including two wins (2020 and 2022) and two top-10s.

Recently, Stewart-Haas Racing released a video featuring Noah and his Viking-style award from Bristol. Gragson said: “This is my 2020 Bristol sword from when we won there in Xfinity, my first win at Bristol. And this is a special night, you know, had a really strong car from the beginning. Once you get up into Victory Lane, they give you one of these.” He further said, “On the sword, it has the name of the race, and the date, and ‘Bristol Motor Speedway, the last great Colosseum’…Here’s my second one from 2022. So, super badass“.

At the Cheddar’s 300 race in 2020, Gragson started in 9th place. He took the lead on lap 46, battling it out with JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier. Eventually, he overtook his current SHR teammate, Chase Briscoe, by 0.328 of a second to the finish line. Outwitting SHR veteran Briscoe may have also arrested the attention of Tony Stewart.

Then Gragson described the unique atmosphere in the 2020 race, given the pandemic conditions. “It was during Covid, so there was no fans there, which was a little bit eerie. It felt weird when you got out of the car after a win. But nonetheless, it’s a really cool addition to the other trophy they give there. This is always really special, being the last great Colosseum. On the sword, it has the name of the race, and the date, and ‘Bristol Motor Speedway, the last great Colosseum’”.

Noah Gragson will be debuting in a Cup race at the upcoming Food City 500 race on Sunday. He has raced a Cup car at Bristol, but only when the 0.533-mile track was paved over with 23,000 cubic yards of red clay. Now that Bristol has been restored to concrete, Gragson joined the bandwagon of drivers who are loving the transition.

Gragson is excited about the new concrete look of Bristol

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Bristol Motor Speedway spent the last three seasons relishing the dirt. But drivers were tired of the country-style dirt gimmick. Now the track’s dirt days are over, as NASCAR officials announced the transition to concrete last year. Drivers including Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, and others are excited about the concrete restoration. Now Gragson has joined their ranks.

“I’m definitely pumped to have the concrete race because I was not ever a very good dirt guy. I ran alright at Eldora in the Truck Series, but Cup at Bristol in the dirt, I always struggled, so that was always a tough one. I kind of figured I would finish close to last, so anything better was a successful day, which isn’t a very good mindset to have at all. But now that we’ve concrete Bristol back, I’m extremely excited.”

Tony Stewart is also excited that his decision is seeing results. Noah Gragson is gearing up for a fantastic weekend in Bristol, and we wish him all the best.

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