Noah Gragson admits that he feels ‘a little pressure’ to perform as Tony Stewart gives him a shot at redemption with SHR

SHR has two new drivers in their 2024 NASCAR Cup line-up.

Noah Gragson admits that he feels ‘a little pressure’ to perform as Tony Stewart gives him a shot at redemption with SHR

Noah Gragson and Tony Stewart (Via IMAGO)

The 2024 NASCAR Cup season would be a major challenge for Noah Gragson, who got his shot at redemption. He was first suspended and later outed from Jimmie Johnson‘s Legacy Motor Club for liking an insensitive social media post. NASCAR indefinitely suspended Gragson and he got re-instated after completing sensitivity training.

Stewart Haas Racing owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas decided to give Gragson a second chance by hiring him as the replacement for Aric Almirola, who retired from full-time racing and joined Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series program.  Gragson has now discussed the pressure on his shoulders to perform this season.

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While talking to Fox Sports’s Bob Pockrass, Gragson said that he feels a little pressure on some tracks he will tackle this season. Gragson, who is going into the season with just one sponsor because of his social media controversy, added that he knows everything will get better once he starts running well and is looking forward to it.

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Everything helps when you’re running good, right? That being said it’s one of those things where, yeah, I do feel a little pressure where we do need to run good. Not for any reason in particular but as a whole everything gets better when you run good.
Gragson said, as reported by 5 GOATS.

Noah Gragson’s teammate Josh Berry is also experiencing similar pressure

Josh Berry was signed by SHR midway through the 2023 season as the replacement for Kevin Harvick. The former No:4 Ford Mustang driver retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023, and the team identified Berry as the right fit to replace him.

Josh Berry, Tony Stewart and Eddie D'Hondt
Josh Berry, Tony Stewart and Eddie D’Hondt (Credits: NBC Sports)

He has the most pressure on his shoulders compared to his teammates, as he replaced the most accomplished driver of SHR. While talking about the same, Berry pointed out that he is excited about the fresh start despite the pressure and said he can step up and perform well.

I think you always feel pressure to perform. From my side of things, this is the most certainty I’ve had in actually having a two-year deal in my entire career. So, it’s a fresh start but it’s something that I’m really excited for. We all know we gotta step up, we all know we gotta perform and run well. That’s no different anywhere you go.

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