Ever since Aric Almirola announced back in October that he would not be returning to Stewart-Haar Racing and the number 10 car, there has been a great deal of speculation as to who would take over the driving duties for 2024.

That question has now been answered…and it is Noah Gragson!

Gragson will be re-united with former JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry who is taking over the driving duties of the number four car after Kevin Harvick’s retirement.  Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece fill out the SHR team of drivers.

Drew Blickensderfer will serve as the crew chief for the Gragson and the number 10.  Sponsorships will be released at a later date.

Gragson’s rookie season in the Cup Series was cut short after his suspension from NASCAR and the Legacy Motor Club and subsequent release.  Gragson was suspended for violating the member conduct policy I the NASCAR rule book in relation to a post on social media.

Gragson was reinstated on September 12 after his completion of the diversity and inclusion training.

Noting that he was humbled to receive a second chance in NASCAR’s Cup Series, Gragson said, “I think just all the opportunities and experiences and time I’ve spent with different people and just listening and learning, right, I think that’s given me a new understanding.  And being out of the race car, it’s not fun watching somebody else do your job, right? And I’ve grown a new appreciation and love back for the sport, where I might have been a little burnt-out last year and be the first one to admit it. But the passion and the love I have for the sport is higher than it’s ever been right now.”

Speaking on the incident that got him suspended – liking a meme on social media that took less than seriously the murder of George Floyd – he said, “Ignorance. I had a lot of garbage on my feed. I was careless when I first got on social media and would accept friend requests from different people, and all of a sudden, you’re friends with people you don’t even know on there, and you’ve just got garbage on your feed, right? So I’ve become a lot more aware of other people, and I was very selfish in the past and only wanted to do things for me. And through this whole process, I’ve learned how to acknowledge others. Everyone’s going through stuff, right? Everyone’s going through their battles. Everyone’s got their challenges in life, and it’s allowed me to just be open-minded to other people.”

He added, “to say I was uneducated is an understatement.  It was impactful, and to be able to learn and understand, and through this whole process put myself in other people’s shoes.”

As a part of his training program, Gragson visited the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina where he had time to reflect.  He also spoke with Kyle Larson who was suspended in 2020 after using a racial slur during an iRacing event and Bubba Wallace, a minority driver in NASCAR and the only bi-racial driver in the Cup Series.