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Tony Stewart Signs Noah Gragson To NASCAR Team Despite Racist Instagram Post

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Tony Stewart is certainly no stranger to controversy.

And the NASCAR hall of famer drummed up even more on Wednesday when he announced that his Stewart-Haas Racing team had signed controversial young driver Noah Gragson.

Gragson, once considered one of the sport’s top prospects, struggled in his rookie season for Legacy Motor Club in 2023 before ultimately being suspended by NASCAR and released by the team after liking a racist Instagram post.

Gragson was found to have liked a post mocking the murder of George Floyd.

“I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media. I understand the severity of this situation. I love and appreciate everyone. I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple,” the 25-year-old tweeted following the incident.

Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic later reported that Gragson was unlikely to return to the team even before the fiasco.

“Even before Gragson’s suspension, Legacy was seriously contemplating replacing Gragson for next season amid his struggles in what is his first full season at the Cup level,” he wrote. “Last week, The Athletic reported that John Hunter Nemechek was the leading candidate to replace Gragson in 2024. With Gragson unlikely to return to Legacy due to performance reasons, combined with his subsequent suspension, it made little sense for the team to have him return to finish out his rookie season.”

Tony Stewart Gives Noah Gragson Second Chance

Stewart’s race team, which he co-owns with billionaire Gene Haas, has struggled in recent years.

In addition to those struggles, he’ll be without future hall of fame driver Kevin Harvick in 2024. Harvick retired following the 2023 season, as did teammate Aric Almirola.

That left Stewart needing to fill two of his four seats for the upcoming season. He tabbed 33-year-old Xfinity Series veteran Josh Berry to replace Harvick.

But Almirola’s replacement remained a mystery up until Wednesday.

Stewart-Haas revealed Gragson as the driver of the No. 10 car for the 2024 season and beyond on Twitter.

NASCAR fans, unsurprisingly, were skeptical of the move.

https://twitter.com/skellingtor97/status/1735052510249803929?s=20

Stewart’s four Cup Series drivers: Gragson, Berry, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece have a combined one win in the series.

Though only Preece and Briscoe have run more than 40 races in the series.

Will his gamble pay off? Only time will tell.

But it’s clear he has no problem taking a risk, both on and off the track.