Dale Earnhardt Jr. Feels Noah Gragson Is What NASCAR Needs “More” of Right Now

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels one driver, one young, up-and-coming, slightly controversial driver has a personality that the sport is in dire need of. Because think about it, there was a time when the sport had names and figures like Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt, then there were Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and Kyle Busch.

These drivers weren’t just names, but they were stars, they were successful; they got the job done, and they carried themselves in their own way.

But now, not many of that breed come through, let alone make it to the top. However, there’s one, who Earnhardt Jr. pointed to, someone who races for his own team, someone that goes by the name of Noah Gragson.

“We need more of that. Guy’s a hell of a personality, you might not like it, you might not like him. But you want that in your sport,” the JR Motorsports owner said of Gragson.

“You want guys with different personalities that are all over the map. You want variety in terms of what you’re getting ready to see when somebody goes out on the racetrack and does a job and then when they celebrate a win.”

Dale Jr. argued that NASCAR has already had a lot of drivers who act all the same, who have been “writing the same vein” for a long time.

“So, it’s good to see some of these young guys with some personality coming in,” he added.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr gave some bitter but useful advice to Noah Gragson

After the Road America incident of Noah Gragson, in which he lost control of his temper and emotions and ended up intentionally wrecking several cars, his team owner gave him some advice.

Advice that sounded bitter, but was ultimately for his benefit.

“He wants to get to the Cup level, and we want to help him get there,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Whether he’s driving a Cup car for us one day or someone else, when he makes those type of decisions, and this is what I told him, I said ‘You’re hurting that opportunity, you’re tarnishing, staining your reputation’.”

“That’s the last thing you want to do when you’re trying to get job offers.”

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