The last time NASCAR’s premier tier raced in North Wilkesboro prior to its 2022 return, Noah Gragson wasn’t even born. Yet, from winning the fan vote last year and finishing just one spot above the penultimate final spot to running in the top 5 drivers likely to win the entry again this year, the #10 has become a certified fan favorite for Wilkesboro’s All-Star excitements.

But the glitz and glam of the podium, along with million-dollar prizes like the one on the line for one of twenty drivers this Sunday, often overshadow the preparation that goes into even an “average” finish for a Cup driver. Nevertheless, it seems like Gragson disapproves of the selfish pursuit of wealth, associated with winning these races. Instead, he prioritizes sharing success with the people who helped him reach the pinnacle in the first place.

Noah Gragson’s heartwarming take on All-Star winnings

On the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download: Reloaded, SHR’s #10 driver was asked alongside three other participants vying for the coveted fan-voted spot, “If you were to make it into the race and you win, it’s a million dollars what are you doing with that money?” Stepping into his sophomore year in NASCAR as part of Tony Stewart’s stable of Dark Horses, Noah had a heartwarming reply to the initial question stating, “I’m going to go to the bank and get it in cash and divide it evenly between everybody on our team.” 

As the cast announced, “That’s the first driver I think we’ve had that is willing to give it to other people and not just pocket or throw a party “ But as Noah opined, they would ‘definitely’ host a good party in case of a #10 victory at North Wilkesboro this weekend. However, for that, he will have to first qualify in the Open race on Saturday or beat out Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, and Corey Lajoie in the fan vote for the final spot. Regardless, Gragson symbolized composed maturity when he explained the reasons for his initial answer stemming from much deeper reasoning. 

“Back when we won the Dash for Cash races and Xfinity. Won five of those and we’re able to take that money and divide it between everybody on the team… What pisses me off is only the driver gets the trophy but it takes everybody on the race team to get to Victory Lane and so in my opinion that’s why I try and get all the guys’ trophies. Each person on the team… because it takes everybody and it’s not fair to me that just a driver gets a trophy. Everybody should get the trophy if they’re a part of the car,” explained the #10 driver.

However, charter sale rumors spreading from the garages of Stewart-Haas Racing may affect Gragson’s inner inhibitions with the #10 team post-festivities of the 2024 NASCAR season. Although Gragson’s 2024 All-Star return has many fans anticipating a better display from the 2023 fan-contest winner, some worthy-to-note speculations have stemmed from his potential lack of a driver’s seat as soon as next year.

Rumors swirl about a future ride… or lack thereof

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The 2025 silly season is well underway early, thanks to the announcement of Michael McDowell’s multi-year move to Spire Motorsports and its #71 Chevrolet entry from Ford-backed Front Row Motorsports, earlier this month. However, a lot of the ‘smoke’ surrounding the shifting charters and seats has emerged from a figurative fire inside Tony Stewart and Gene Haas’ garage.

From calls of internal friction between the quartet to below-average performances, on the part of SHR after Kevin Harvick’s retirement last year, many problems currently persist for Gragson and his racing buddies.

However, the biggest development following Stewart-Haas is the news of potentially more than one charter sale, with some outlets even claiming a potential merger with fellow Blue Oval organization, FRM. To add to the flames, the members of Door Bumper Clear podcast recently speculated on the movement within the NASCAR business world. According to Brad Keselowski’s #6 team spotter, TJ Majors, “There’s some surprising teams that you hear about talking about him (Gragson).”

It’s understandable why teams would be interested in the 25-year-old driver. While 2023 was an unfortunate year for the Las Vegas native (owing to an untimely suspension due to his social media antics), 2024 has been a year to remember. Starting his Cup run with a blistering P9 at the Daytona 500, the racer has succeeded in picking up three more Top-10s and even a P3 finish at Talladega, leaving behind veterans of the sport including consistent front runners like Kyle Larson and Denny Hanmlin.

Having said that, although the interested parties are still speculating, a blockbuster year could await the current #10 driver following the conclusion of the 2024 season.