It’s no secret that JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson has made a lot of noise in his short Xfinity Series career.
The 24-year-old has racked up seven wins, 48 top five finishes, and 79 top 10s.
However, he’s made noise for other reasons, as he was the face of NASCAR headlines a few weeks back for all the wrong reasons after he intentionally wrecked fellow driver Sage Karam at Road America, a move that JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he “could not defend.”
He also was in the headlines previously after he shotgunned a beer after clinching a spot in the Xfinity Series final, and before that, when he exchanged blows with Daniel Hemric at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Needless to say, he’s made a strong case for being NASCAR’s new “bad boy.”
With that being said, rumors have circulated that Gragson’s time with JR Motorsports may be coming to a close here shortly.
Last week, Petty GMS Motorsports announced that they would be releasing Ty Dillon at the end of the 2022 Cup Series season, due to the drastic point differential between Dillon and fellow teammate Erik Jones.
FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass reported that Gragson is a top candidate to take Dillon’s spot behind the number 42 Chevrolet.
According to Fansided, Gragson has had a long standing relationship with Petty GMS Motorsports’ sponsor Black Rifle Coffee Company, which very well could make Gragson the frontrunner for the job for the 2023 season.
Nevertheless, it appears that Gragson’s full-time Cup Series spot has been in the works for quite some time, given his success in the Xfinity series season, and with the youngster’s strong ties with Petty GMS, it could be a nice fresh start to kickoff his Cup Series career, given JR Motorsports haven’t been fans of his recent actions.
I guess time will tell…
