“Privileged white male,” Noah Gragson details his LONE journey towards becoming open-minded after NASCAR suspension
Noah Gragson is set to drive for SHR next season.
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Noah Gragson (Via IMAGO)
The 2023 NASCAR season has been a nightmare for Noah Gragson as his controversial social media actions almost cost him his career. He will get a chance to redeem himself after the premature end of his Cup journey with Legacy MC. Gragson has signed with Stewart Haas Racing to drive the No:10 Ford Mustang in the 2024 season.
The ex-JR Motorsports was indefinitely suspended by his team and NASCAR for liking a racist Instagram post. He later parted ways with the team and joined a sensitivity training program as part of the re-instating process of NASCAR. Gragson has completed the training and is back on the track. Ahead of the SHR move he reflected on the training he had.
Gragson admitted that he understood how uneducated he was concerning the “privileges” he enjoyed as a “white male” and how much he ignored the issues of people who were in unfortunate situations. He claimed that he has stepped away from being selfish and has now become more open-minded.
To say I was uneducated is an understatement. It was impactful...Walking through [the museums] there thinking, ‘Man, as a white male, I have privilege and what would it be like to be in their shoes’ and put myself in there. It's allowed me to step away from being so selfish about myself and learn and open up and become open-minded about others.Gragson told Fox Sports.
Noah Gragson’s journey was lonely
The young driver went on to point out that the journey he had to take after all the controversies was eye-opening, but he was lonely in doing it. He pointed out that the time he had with his psychologist during those dark moments was challenging but at the end of the day, it was all worthwhile.
t was a lot of lonely time. Challenging moments. But I felt like those moments have pushed me to become better. With my psychologist, [it’s] we either win or we learn. And I don't think spending time in the dark by yourself is a winning moment. But it's an opportunity to learn about yourself and think and really use your mind.
Gragson has a lot more goals to accomplish going into the 2024 season and these include proving himself on and off the track. With SHR he will most probably will have cars capable of winning races and it’s up to him to get those wins. Their off-track perspective of fans about him will change if he shows signs of progress.
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