“I was shocked,” Noah Gregson opens up about Jimmie Johnson joining Petty GMS Racing

Jimmie Johnson surprised the entire NASCAR garage when he announced his return to NASCAR. The seven times world champion joined Petty GMS Racing as a co-owner and part-time driver. He is set to make his cup series return in the 2023 Daytona 500. He is also tasked with guiding the Erik Jones and Noah Gregson duo to next year.

Jons and Gregson have the unique opportunity of receiving guidance from Johnson and petty GMS co-owner Richard Petty, who is also a seven times champion. Gregson, who joined the Petty’s cup side way before Johnson joined, was shocked when he learned about the move. He didn’t expect such a thing to occur even in his wildest dreams,

“I don’t think anyone — I was shocked personally — would have thought in their wildest dreams that Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty and Maury Gallagher would team up to own a NASCAR Cup Series team,” Noah Gregson said.

For Gregson, it is an exceptional opportunity to be part of something big. He said, “But obviously, a very special moment that we’ve had today, listening to Maury and Richard and Mike Beam and Jimmie just kind of reflect on their goals and vision, where they want to take this. I think it’s obviously a very special moment, and [I’m] just excited to get to work with these guys,”

Also read: “That’s a lot of pressure,” NASCAR legend opens up about Ty Gibbs replacing Kyle Busch at JGR

Noah Gregson hopes to learn a lot from Big brother Jimmie Johnson

 Noah Gregson sees Jimmie Johnson as a big brother. He is trying to gain as much as knowledge he could from the HMS legend. He said, “[I] felt like a little brother just wearing out the big brother. Not comparing that he is like a big brother figure to me right now, but in the sense of, like, I was trying to gain as much knowledge as I could from him. So, he was always open to helping me out, and really, really grateful for that,”.

Noah Gregson understands the value of having someone like Jimmie Johnson as a mentor and teammate in the garage. A unique honor, to say the least. He is also excited to team up with Erik Jones, who will lead the GMs line next year.

“Jimmie, obviously, [brings] a lot of value into the team and different aspects. And personally, I think that it’s really special for everybody involved. Everyone’s really excited. And [I’m] excited to be able to be teammates with Erik Jones full time. He’s a great driver as well,” Noah Gregson added.

Also read: Noah Gregson is all set to learn from “Big brother” Jimmie Johnson in his Rookie cup season

Also read: “I would’ve been terrible,” Eight times NHRA champion Tony Schumacher admits he would have never made it in NASCAR  

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