NASCAR Insider Reveals Jimmie Johnson Had Planned to Fire Noah Gragson Before Social Media Conundrum

Noah Gragson stirred up a storm in the NASCAR world over his social media activities in the past week. Things got so bad for him that he was suspended by both his team and NASCAR. Gragson did release a statement on social media apologizing for his actions, but it seems unlikely that he will find a seat in NASCAR any time soon. Many believed that his loss would make it difficult for the team, but there is evidence that suggests that the Jimmie Johnson-owned team would have shown Noah Gragson the door regardless of what he did come to the end of the season.

On a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, co-host Freddie Kraft said that there were rumors flying around that Legacy Motor Club already had a name in mind to replace Noah Gragson at the end of the season. This was before Gragson did what he did on social media, which caused him the trouble he has been going through in the past week. According to Kraft, Legacy Motor Club was looking to sign John Hunter Nemechek as a full-timer in the Cup Series in 2024.

Xfinity megastar is tipped to replace Noah Gragson at legacy motor club

“I gotta be honest, we’ve been hearing rumors for the last two weeks, three weeks, maybe more that Noah was going to be out anyway because there’s a possible Toyota Xfinity driver that’s lighting the world on fire, and by the way this team is going to Toyota next year, maybe taking that seat no matter what just based on performance that the #42 car has had this year,” Kraft said.

Nemechek has had ties with Toyota since the early days of his NASCAR career. After the 2020 season in the Cup Series, the 26-year-old moved down to the Truck Series, where he raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports, a Toyota partner, in 2021 and 2022. Nemechek was promoted to Joe Gibbs’ Xfinity Series team, again a Toyota partner, and he has been dominant in the competition.

“I was literally reading an article from somebody in the car and it’s talking about Martin Truex may or may not come back but they have time to make a decision on that because you have a guy like, I mean we can name John Hunter’s waiting in the wings, you know,” the Door Bumper Clear podcast co-host added.

Despite his antics on social media, Noah Gragson has proven that he is a talented driver on track. While he has not had the best of seasons with legacy Motor Club, some people are not entirely happy about him being suspended. One of them is Freddie Kraft who considers Gragson a friend.

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NASCAR insider wishes the best for Gragson

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Kraft might have spoken a lot about Nemechek replacing Noah Gragson at Legacy, but he was a little sympathetic towards the suspended driver, stating that now was the time he needed to reflect on what he did and learn from his mistakes.

“I don’t know, obviously, what Noah’s contract looks like, but, if you’re looking for a way to get rid of a guy cause you want to get this other guy in, he might have handed it to you on a silver platter when he makes his mistake and it’s unfortunate because I’ve known Noah for a while, I consider him a friend as well,” he said.

Kraft also mentioned that they had criticized Gragson on the show, and despite taking the brunt of that, the 25-year-old did have some fun with them in what was a good memory for everyone involved. He wished Gragson the best for his future and urged him to learn from his mistakes.

“We have been harsh on him on this show, he came on here and kind of took the brunt of that and had some fun with us so I really hope the best for him but sometimes, you gotta learn from mistakes and this is gonna be a hard one for Noah,” he said.

With Noah Gragson’s suspension, John Hunter Nemechek’s move to NASCAR is very much on the cards for 2024. The 26-year-old has been in the sport for a number of years and has been tearing it up in the Xfinity Series, winning as recently as the past weekend in Michigan. If he does move to the Cup Series full-time, it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of the competition.

His connection to Toyota over the years makes him a strong candidate to replace Noah Gragson at Legacy Motor Club, which will shift from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2024.

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