Noah Gragson is finding out the hard way that keeping his personal thoughts off social media can keep him out of controversy.
NASCAR and Legacy Motor Club have suspended driver Noah Gragson over a meme making fun of the death of George Floyd, a post that Gragson had liked. NASCAR announced an indefinite suspension for Gragson for violating the member conduct section of the NASCAR Rule Book.
“NASCAR fully supports Legacy Motor Club’s decision to suspend Noah Gragson,” NASCAR said. “Following his actions on social media, NASCAR has determined that Gragson has violated the Member Conduct section of the 2023 NASCAR Rule Book and has placed him under indefinite suspension.”
Gragson is in his first full season running in the Cup series and is 33rd in the standings with no top-10 finishes. He has struggled to adjust to racing in the Cup Series after dominating in Xfinity.
His best finish of the season is a 12th at Atlanta in the spring.
Gragson would release a statement on the matter:
“I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media,” Gragson said following the announcement of his suspension.
“I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple.”
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The team says that Gragson’s actions “do not represent [their] values,” leading to the decision to suspend him, effective immediately.
Gragson will be replaced by Josh Berry in the No. 42 car for Sunday’s race. Berry, who will replace Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024, succeeded Gragson in the No. 9 Xfinity Series car at JR Motorsports when Gragson moved up to the Cup Series in 2023.
He has run in eight Cup series races while filling in for Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman as they dealt with injuries.
