Noah Gragson Eyes NASCAR Rebound with Front Row Motorsports at Atlanta Cup Race originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Former Stewart-Haas driver Noah Gragson sees the upcoming Quaker State 400 race as an opportunity to revive his NASCAR Cup Series career with his current team, Front Row Motorsports. The 26-year-old will be heading into the Atlanta Motor Speedway with new sponsor Zep Inc. and a shot at a $1 million prize money.
Following Stewart-Haas Racing’s shutdown last season, Gragson ended up in a NASCAR limbo, with collapsed sponsors and unsure of his racing future. However, luckily, this season, he’s racing into the Cup Series with Front Row Motorsports and Zep Inc. as a new sponsor.
Reflecting on the past twelve months, he revealed that he wasn’t expecting to enter this Cup Series season piloting FRM’s No. 4 Mustang Dark Horse. But, he was always confident of a comeback, without knowing it would be like this.
“No, I didn’t know how it was all going to happen,” Gragson told Forbes.com. “I kept my confidence up that I’d have an opportunity. I just didn’t know what it was going to look like.”
Despite not expecting it, the now-FRM racer has even landed a new sponsor in the form of Zep Inc.— the same cleaning products company that sponsored Chase Briscoe at Stewart-Haas. As another plot twist, the upcoming Quaker State 400 starts NASCAR’s first-ever in-season tournament, complete with brackets, eliminations and a $1 million prize.
Pristine machine. @Zep_USA will sponsor @NoahGragson and the No. 4 team for multiple Cup Series races. pic.twitter.com/QCosnkzqTk
— Front Row Motorsports (@Team_FRM) January 9, 2025
As for the track, Atlanta Motor Speedway has been an eclectic mix for him. Here, he racked up satisfactory finishes in the Xfinity Series— three top-five finishes and five top-10s. But, since turning into a superspeedway hybrid track, things have been rough for him there.
“The old track, I was really, really good there,” he admitted. “Since they added the banking and made it more like a superspeedway, staying out of wrecks has been tough. Honestly, it’s probably my worst statistical track since the reconfiguration.”
Still, the former SHR driver hopes to turn things around this time. “We’ve got an opportunity this weekend to change that,” he added.
As for now, he sees the Atlanta Cup race as more than just a rebound for himself; perhaps, the beginning of something bigger. “And does it all go according to plan? I don’t know what the headline’s gonna be. But it’s gonna be pretty big. I know that,” the 26-year-old concluded.
With a great story as an underdog, he’ll again be in the spotlight piloting Front Row’s No. 4 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway with eyes locked on the prize.
Related: NASCAR’s Top 10 Atlanta Motor Speedway Moments
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
