Entrance Row Motorsports had Noah Gragson on the prime of their board.
It was the one identify the group wanted, touchdown Gragson in a multiyear deal introduced Wednesday. Gragson’s workforce program will likely be specified by the approaching weeks because the group leaves automotive numbers and different particulars open till its full driver lineup is finalized. However within the meantime, the group received the driving force it needed in 25-year-old Gragson.
“I feel for the entire package deal,” Entrance Row normal supervisor Jerry Freeze mentioned in explaining its selection. “I feel as soon as he received within the 10 automotive this yr, you noticed what he was able to on the monitor. He might run up within the prime 10, and he doesn’t appear to take any flak on the racetrack. Kyle Busch is mad at him one week and this man is mad at him the subsequent week, and I type of like that. He’s not on the market to make associates.
“We noticed his success within the Truck Collection. We noticed his success within the Xfinity Collection. Final yr was extremely rocky for him, however he’s rebounded, and he’s gotten into a very good operation.”
Freeze did his due diligence earlier than Gragson was signed. One of many people Freeze spoke to was Drew Blickensderfer, who beforehand labored at Entrance Row Motorsports. Blickensderfer is Gragson’s present crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing, working with a younger driver after spending a number of years overseeing groups for veterans Michael McDowell and Aric Almirola.
One of many questions Freeze requested Blickensderfer, “’Nicely, how is it going with this loopy child?’
“He was so glowing in his reward for Noah with what he’s achieved within the offseason constructing these relationships with them — the street crew, pit crew, advertising and all of that. All the pieces I heard speaking to associates of mine about Noah with Stewart-Haas was optimistic and he was the quickest man of their secure arguably the primary seven or eight races. So, after we knew Michael was shifting on and the chance to get the constitution and man, we’re going to have to seek out two drivers right here, it was like, who is obtainable? I simply thought he might be the entire package deal of a younger man with some expertise, lots of expertise, lots of success within the decrease sequence, who’s trying to make his mark, and marketable.”
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Freeze was stunned to see how well-liked Gragson is with race followers. Gragson appeared within the top-10 trackside gross sales experiences a number of instances final season, which Freeze noticed as a result of they’re despatched to groups.
“So, I simply suppose it’s the entire package deal he brings to the desk,” Freeze mentioned.
“Some guys are actually good drivers and is likely to be a problem marketability-wise however I feel he checked all of the bins for what you search for.”
Gragson, Todd Gilliland and a 3rd driver to be introduced can have Entrance Row Motorsports fielding three full-time entries subsequent season for the primary time since 2019. The group introduced Might 29 that it had bought a 3rd constitution.
The growth wasn’t essentially stunning to Freeze, who mentioned it occurred rapidly. In actual fact, he vividly remembers the day at Bristol when groups started listening to there can be an opportunity to make affords on charters. Bob Jenkins, the proprietor of Entrance Row Motorsports, was so excited that it made Freeze shake a bit.
“We had three charters for one yr after we purchased BK Racing out of chapter, and it was an enormous problem for us,” Freeze mentioned. “We weren’t prepared at that time to run three automobiles and we rapidly bought off that constitution and centered on two automobiles. However I do know within the years since Bob has regretted we bought that constitution. Bob is a self-made man… and to him, incremental development is the important thing to success.
“He at all times regretted that we bought that constitution and so I feel he wished we’d have stayed the course with three groups. So, when he came upon, hey, there’s a possibility to get in on probably buying one other constitution, although the value had jumped fairly a bit from the final time, he believes on this sport in the long run sufficient that he needed to make that funding. It was type of on from Bristol.”
