Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, the often-candid Noah Gragson didn’t sugarcoat the first 10 races of his 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. But he’s not really sure why things haven’t gone quite as planned.
“We had a lot of speed last year in our cars, and I’m not quite sure where that speed has gone,” Gragson explained. “It’s just unbelievably frustrating when you get done with the race, and it’s like, I haven’t gone three laps down at these tracks ever, and now just the speed’s not there. I’m trying to work hard with my team and my group to get that back. There’s only so much I can do.”
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The 27-year-old sits 29th in points just past the quarter pole of the 2026 season, scratching his head about the team’s early performance. He finished on the lead lap just four times — with three of those results coming at drafting tracks — including a season-best ninth-place finish Sunday at Talladega. Until last weekend, Gragson went six consecutive races without a finish better than 26th, and has just one DNF: a mechanical failure at Phoenix.
Based strictly on points, he’s off to a better start this year than last, when he sat 31st in the series through 10 races. He attributed last year’s finishes to being “in the wrong place at the right time,” while struggles in 2026 are based more on speed. Gragson places 30th in average running position (25.4), and per NASCAR Insights, entered Talladega 31st in both speed and passer ratings.
But admittedly, he’s still adjusting to a new leader. Veteran engineer Grant Hutchens took over as crew chief for the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports team in the offseason as previous shot-caller Drew Blickensderfer was promoted to competition director, overseeing the organization’s three full-time Fords.
“I’m still trying to get to know [Hutchens],” Gragson said. “He’s trying to figure out what I like, point him in the right direction. But with all that being said, I feel like we get along great. I don’t know why our results haven’t been there, but we’re working hard, and I think we’re not frustrated with each other by any means.
“Our relationship’s really good. Just, I don’t know why we’re slow. There’s a lot of hard work, a lot of great people. The Ford horsepower has been great. The team’s been great. Just kind of scratching our heads … I don’t know what we’re missing, but we’re trying to figure it out.”
And as one of the more entertaining drivers in the Cup Series garage, Gragson believes his performance directly impacts his personality. He spent time with NFL legend Marshawn Lynch and other internet personalities at Talladega, taking them around the 2.66-mile venue with behind-the-scenes access on pit road. During his dominant O’Reilly Auto Parts Series run at JR Motorsports, he developed a reputation for iconic victory celebrations: killer burnouts, climbing fences and shotgunning beers. And with eight wins and 21 top fives in 2022, he could certainly back up his boisterous, almost larger-than-life character.
But if he can’t, Gragson says, that version of the Las Vegas native goes by the wayside.
“These last three years haven’t been much fun, just not being able to be myself,” he explained. “Everybody’s got an opinion, and if you’re winning, you’re OK. When you’re not winning, it’s a firestorm, and people just want to point ‘Oh, it’s this, this or this.’ Well, [people] never said none of that stuff when I was winning races, so what’s the difference now? … If you’re winning, people don’t care. You can do whatever you want.”
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“At the same time, I do think it is a balance. At the end of the day, I think the people who are closest to me know that I work hard behind the scenes throughout my whole career, and I truly am passionate about the sport. It’s not like I’m going out there and messing around. I do my work throughout the week, and when I get to the race track, I try to enjoy myself as much as I can.”
Gragson heads to Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a turnaround in mind. In three starts, he has a best finish of 18th in 2024. His race last year ended early due to a crash.
“I don’t know if I’ll be the fastest thing in Texas or I’ll be the slowest thing in Texas,” he quipped. “But I’m preparing to be the fastest thing in Texas.”