Noah Gragson has been replaced for these NASCAR races after social media incident
Noah Gragson’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series is still up in the air.
The 25-year-old driver will not drive for at least the next two race weekends. His race team, Legacy Motor Club, announced Tuesday morning that it signed two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike “Rocky” Rockenfeller to drive the No. 42 entry for the team for the foreseeable future — which includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday and Watkins Glen International on Aug. 20.
Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic had the news first, including in his report that Gragson will not return to the Cup Series to finish out his rookie season. The Cup season runs through the first weekend of November.
Gragson’s first year on NASCAR’s premier stage went from bad to worse this past weekend after he was served two separate suspensions — one by his race team and one of the “indefinite” variety by NASCAR — for what he’d later call “disappointing” behavior on social media.
That behavior was Gragson liking a meme on Instagram that showed the face of George Floyd transposed onto a movie character from Disney’s Little Mermaid — Sebastian — with the caption, “Under the Knee.”
Gragson apologized via Twitter soon after his suspension.
“I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media,” Gragson wrote. “I understand the severity of this situation. I love and appreciate everyone. I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple.”
Josh Berry replaced Gragson for this past weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Now Rockenfeller will run in Gragson’s stead. Rockenfeller and Legacy Motor Club part-owner Jimmie Johnson competed in the IMSA series together for two seasons and worked closely with one another during NASCAR’s Garage 56 project at Le Mans earlier this summer.
This will be Rockenfeller’s first start in the Cup Series in 2023 after making two starts in 2022.
Gragson, who was once considered a big part of his fledgling race team’s future, sits 33rd in points with three races left to go in the regular season without a ride.
