CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Noah Gragson has spent the final 5 months engaged on private development and maturity after his “like” of an insensitive meme of George Floyd almost value him his NASCAR profession.

He’ll get an opportunity to indicate if he’s really developed with Stewart-Haas Racing, which stated Wednesday it has employed Gragson to drive the No. 10 Ford within the Cup Collection. It’s a second probability Gragson shouldn’t be taking flippantly after his profession imploded in August.

Social media customers famous {that a} meme circulating of Floyd, a Black man who was killed in 2020 by white cops, had been “favored” by Gragson. NASCAR suspended the 25-year-old and he parted methods with Legacy Motor Membership, which had employed the Las Vegas native for his first full season racing within the prime Cup degree.

Gragson, who had constructed a popularity as an aggressive driver each on and off the observe within the second-tier Xfinity Collection, reached out to good buddy Brandon McReynolds and puzzled why every little thing was falling aside in his life.

“I used to be like ‘Man, what’s happening? Like, is that this actual? Why is that this occurring?’” Gragson recalled in an interview with The Related Press. “He stated ‘Hey buddy, I’m going to let you know this since you’re like a little bit brother to me, however it’s time you develop up and it’s time you’re taking accountability and also you permit your self to take this chance to work on your self and self mirror.’”

And that’s what Gragson did throughout his suspension, by which he needed to work by a sensitivity coaching course with NASCAR but additionally sought skilled assist with a psychologist. Gragson stated the work he’s put in during the last 5 months has been life-changing.

“It has introduced an amazing quantity of self-awareness to myself, self-reflection, and in the end it opened my eyes to the world and confirmed me I used to be a reasonably egocentric man,” Gragson stated. “I’ve realized to pay extra consideration, be extra current, benefit from the individuals I’m with. This has actually been a impolite awakening of all of the work I wanted to do on myself.”

Gragson, who gained 13 races within the Xfinity Collection driving for JR Motorsports and was the 2022 championship runner-up, ran 21 races in Cup with Legacy earlier than his suspension. Legacy, now co-owned by Jimmie Johnson, was dramatically uncompetitive and Gragson didn’t rating a single top-10 end and was thirty third within the standings when he misplaced his job.

He doesn’t know why he hit the like button on the Floyd meme in early August, however his journey of self-reflection has given Gragson some theories.

“I believe my ignorance and lack of expertise put me in that place to love that meme,” Gragson stated. “I believe by every little thing I’ve realized, I’m in a position to have situational consciousness. I believe at the moment, it was laziness on social media. I don’t know why it got here up on my web page, however I take accountability for the lack of expertise and understand I put myself in that place and wish to develop into higher from it.”

He wasn’t certain he’d get one other probability however landed a seat at SHR, which was winless final season within the Cup Collection and needed to substitute each Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola for 2024. Gragson is getting Almirola’s seat.

SHR co-owner Tony Stewart, no stranger to controversy on and off the observe himself, was prepared to provide Gragson a gap to return to racing.

“Noah deserves to be within the NASCAR Cup Collection,” Stewart stated. “Noah has carried out at each degree the place he’s competed and has frequently been in championship competition. That’s the type of driver we’d like at Stewart-Haas and that’s why Noah is part of our crew.”

Gragson is the great-grandson of Oran Gragson, the Mayor of Las Vegas from 1959 to 1974, and his father, Scott, in 2020 pleaded responsible to DUI inflicting demise for a 2019 crash that killed a mom of three. Scott Gragson was sentenced to eight to twenty years in jail.

Gragson declined to debate any results his father’s scenario had on his personal habits, which seemingly grew to become erratic after the deadly crash. The teenager was in bodily confrontations on the observe, and, after wins, would usually settle for alcoholic drinks from followers within the stands to have a good time.

He did, nevertheless, acknowledge that seeing a psychologist then would have benefited him.

“It simply takes changing into sincere with myself. I don’t wish to get into an excessive amount of element, however with that scenario, it’s positively one thing that I’ve develop into extra sincere with myself and accepting of the scenario,” Gragson stated. “It’s the way you adapt and the way you overcome the adversity and challenges. I really feel like I’m nonetheless making an attempt to study life and learn to do the suitable issues and it’s been powerful, to say the least.