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As he enters his fourth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s safe to safe that Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson is racing for his career. And he’s already off to a rough start.
Gragson, a former star at the developmental level, broke into the Cup Series in 2023 with Legacy Motor Club, which is co-owned by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.
However, he lost his ride mid-way through the season after he was found to have liked a racially insensitive post on Instagram.
He landed on his feet the following season with Stewart-Haas Racing, co-owned by Tony Stewart, but he finished just 24th in the standings, and the team folded at the end of the season.
Gragson got a third chance in 2025, this time with Front Row, but he recorded just two top-10 finishes in 36 races and finished the season 34th in points.
This time around, it feels like now or never … and the indications point to never.
Noah Gragson Blatantly Breaks New Rule In Daytona 500 Qualifying
During Wednesday night’s qualifying for the Daytona 500, Gragson was busted for breaking a new rule that states drivers cannot use their hand to block wind from entering the driver’s-side window of the car, therefore creating a small amount of lesser drag.
In previous years, a number of drivers would use the tactic as a means to gain even the slightest bit of advantage.
Noah Gragson’s qualifying time has been disallowed for putting his hand out the window. He spoke with Jamie Little. pic.twitter.com/1333mURhla
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 12, 2026
“I completely forgot about that rule, so that one’s on me,” Gragson said afterward. “Yeah, I feel like an idiot for that.”
As a result, his qualifying time was thrown out. He will still be able to start Sunday’s race, however, he’ll have to start Thursday’s qualifying race in the last starting spot.
While Gragson felt dumb and put his team on the back foot, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw the funnier side of things.
“This is the most Noah thing ever,” NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote on social media. “Don’t touch that stove, it’s hot. Touches stove. Gets burnt. Says yes, it is hot.”
Everyone keeps waiting around for Gragson to learn his lesson. But at 27 years old and in his fourth full-time Cup Series season, it doesn’t feel as if it’s ever going to happen.