Heading into the 2024 season, no driver-team pairing was aiming to make a comeback as eagerly as Stewart-Haas Racing and Noah Gragson, who have much to prove after major setbacks last year. While Tony Stewart’s woes were largely based on the performance of the SHR Fords and the departure of Kevin Harvick, Noah Gragson had spent the last few months making up for his suspension from Legacy Motor Club and preparing for his arrival at Stewart-Haas Racing. And after bringing home solid results for SHR in the season’s first four races, it looks like the comeback story is well underway!

Noah Gragson would have been 15th in the drivers’ standings if not for a penalty

It’s no secret that the pressure within the Stewart-Haas Racing team has been rising ever since last season’s end, with Tony Stewart leading the charge toward redemption. But while many questioned the ability of the team’s young squadron to pull off what the likes of Harvick and Aric Almirola did, it seems like Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe are wasting no time to rise to the task.

Speaking of Gragson in particular, the 25-year-old started the year strong for the #10 SHR garage by finishing in the top ten at the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, this momentum would face major friction after Gragson and Ryan Preece were handed 35-point penalties for violating sections of the NASCAR Rule Book about roof air deflectors. Despite the setback, Gragson continued on his Daytona form at his home race in Las Vegas, securing his best-ever finish in sixth.

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Moving on to this weekend’s Shiners Children’s 500, Noah Gragson trailed teammate Chase Briscoe closely behind at the checkered flag to bring home a 12th-place finish, bringing much-needed hope to SHR fans over their front-running prospects. It’s also worth mentioning that, after the points penalty set Gragson at negative six points in the standings, the SHR rookie outclassed teammate Ryan Preece in the following races. Preece had a six-point lead over Gragson after the penalties, which has now changed to Gragson leading Preece by nine positions and 25 points in the standings after Phoenix. A testament to Gragson’s position within SHR.

Veteran Insider Jeff Gluck also shared an interesting statistic that showcases where Gragson would have ranked after Phoenix if it wasn’t for the 35-point penalty. Gluck stated, “Noah Gragson (P12 today) keeps getting top-15s. If he had his 35 points back from the roof rail penalty, he would be 15th in the point standings. Instead, he’s 26th.” 

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While it’s safe to say the points penalty at Atlanta certainly put Noah Gragson on the back foot, the rate at which the #10 Ford has been bringing in top-15s shows nothing but promise for better results in the future. With that said, Gragson’s teammate, who has been right up there with him, also pointed out the strides Stewart-Haas Racing has made so far.

Chase Briscoe highlights SHR’s progress from last year with high praise for the #10’s and the #14’s results

Although the focus has been on Noah Gragson’s picture-perfect comeback after last year’s incidents, he isn’t the only driver at SHR carrying the baton of redemption forward. Chase Briscoe currently sits as the lead SHR driver in the driver’s standings (P19) and had a lot of positive takeaways from the weekend at Phoenix despite a heated exchange with Erik Jones.

Reflecting on how Noah Gragson and the #14 garage’s results so far had shown great signs of progress, Briscoe shared with FrontStretch, “I mean, on the short tracks, we were really good last year, right? But on the mile and a half, just the overall speed. We’ve made the final round and qualifying everywhere but the Daytona 500. We’ve run up front a lot. We’ve got stage points. As a company, I feel like we almost have more top tens just between Noah and I than we did as a whole organization outside of Kevin last year. So yeah, we’ve been way better.” 

While the #14 Mustang Darkhorse driver felt that winning a race soon would be the icing on the cake, he also acknowledged that the team had to focus on maintaining their visits to the top 10 and build from there. Briscoe concluded, “You gotta start earning the top tens before you can start earning the top fives. And then when you’re earning the top fives, you eventually win one. So yeah, we’ve been chipping away at it little by little. We’ve got a little bit more to go, but hopefully, we can just continue to be consistent every week.”

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After taking a look at how Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe have been stepping up to fill in the large void left at SHR by the departure of Harvick and Almirola, do you think SHR can bounce back to the glory of yesteryears?