NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for Noah Gragson in 2022
By Randy Smith
With JR Motorsports promoting two full-time drivers for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the plans for Noah Gragson are unknown. Here are three possible landing spots.
JR Motorsports have started to solidify their driver lineup for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with the promotion of Josh Berry. The part-time driver from 2021 is set to drive the #8 Chevrolet full-time next year.
Additionally, the team have also confirmed that rookie Sam Mayer is slated to continue driving full-time next year after turning 18 and becoming a full-time driver back in late June.
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This leaves unknown futures for the drivers who entered the 2021 season as full-time drivers for the team: Michael Annett, Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson. Allgaier seems to be a lock to return to the #7 Chevrolet. He is the longest tenured driver on the team who has already picked up two wins and sits in fourth place in the point standings.
Annett’s future is unknown, especially with injuries recently affecting his season. However, he brings sponsorship with him from Pilot Flying J, a truck stop chain owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. Additionally, Annett is the second longest tenured driver on the team, having joined only a year after Allgaier.
The wild card in this scenario then becomes Gragson. Gragson recently said himself that he has “no idea” about his 2022 plans. So here are three possible landing spots for the 23-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native.
Noah Gragson landing spots: No. 1 – A move up to the Cup Series
It may not be much, but Gragson does technically have some Cup series experience.
He attempted to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 for Beard Motorsports in a non-chartered car, but a late wreck in his Duel race involving Garrett Smithley destroyed the #62 Chevrolet, and his hopes of grabbing the transfer spot to compete in the Great American Race and make his official Cup Series debut were dashed.
But considering the fact that he does have that prior experience and has at least already been offered a chance, there’s no reason to believe that another team can’t have the same idea. While NASCAR’s free agency period has already taken off in a big way, there are still some quality teams with open seats.
Additionally, there are some other teams planning to compete in the Cup Series next season that haven’t announced anything about their driver lineup or how many races in which they plan to compete, including GMS Racing and existing part-time team Gaunt Brothers Racing.
Gragson has seen Xfinity Series competitors Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton get Cup Series promotions, with the former being promoted to Team Penske and the latter switching from Joe Gibbs Racing to sign with Wood Brothers Racing. With the funding Gragson brings from Bass Pro Shops, True Timber and Black Riffle Coffee Co., all it takes is one team to say yes.