NOAH GRAGSON
Watkins Glen Advance
No. 10 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Event Overview
● Event: Go Bowling at The Glen (Round 28 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 15
● Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International
● Layout: 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 90 laps / 220.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 20 laps / Stage 2: 20 laps / Final Stage: 50 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● The Go Bowling at The Glen Sunday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International is the fourth of five road-course races on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, finished 34th in the series’ first road-course race of the year March 24 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He then placed 26th in the series’ second road-course stop June 9 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. In his most recent road-course start on the streets of downtown Chicago for the July 7 Grant Park 165, Gragson finished 14th. After Watkins Glen, the final road-course race of the year takes place Oct. 12 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.
● The Go Bowling at The Glen will be Gragson’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in Upstate New York, but that doesn’t mean the 26-year-old racer from Las Vegas isn’t familiar with its undulating layout. Gragson has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Watkins Glen and finished among the top-10 each time, with his best result coming in his most recent drive at the track – a fourth-place finish in 2022.
● Gragson also has three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts at Watkins Glen, with his best effort coming in his debut at the track – eighth in the 2015 Bully Hill Vineyards 125.
● Across the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Gragson has made a total of 41 road-course starts – six in Cup, 21 in Xfinity, two in Trucks, two in ARCA and 10 in K&N – amassing four wins, 16 top-fives and 27 top-10s with 167 laps led.
● Gragson’s four road-course wins all came in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, and three were earned in a one-week stretch in September 2016. Gragson swept a pair of K&N Series West races at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, beating Todd Gilliland on Sept. 10 and then besting him again on Sept. 11 when Gragson took the lead from Gilliland on the last lap. Six days and 2,219 miles later at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, Gragson scored his third straight road-course win, this time in the K&N Series East where he beat Justin Haley. Gragson’s fourth and most recent road-course win was earned in the 2019 K&N Series West race at Sonoma.
● Compared to the other road courses on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Watkins Glen is a power track – less finesse, more get-on-the-gas-and-go. Here’s a turn-by-turn explanation of the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course that is Watkins Glen.
● Turn 1: Once drivers take the green flag, they are immediately faced with a downhill trek into the first corner. Carrying a ton of speed down the straightaway, this is a heavy braking zone in order to get the car slowed down enough to make the right-hand turn. This is one of the best opportunities to make a pass, and this turn can get chaotic very quickly, especially on restarts.
● Turn 2: After making it through the first turn, the drivers hop on a short straight which leads them gradually uphill and into the second right-hand corner. This turn begins the ascent through the “esses” portion of the track.
● Turn 3: Continuing the uphill climb through the esses, this sweeping left-hander can be treacherous as drivers begin to carry more speed up the slope.
● Turn 4: This corner is the final portion of the esses. Drivers complete the uphill climb and the corner starts to level off, building up more speed as they enter the backstretch of the circuit.
● Inner Loop, aka the “Bus Stop”: The backstretch allows the drivers to gain a ton of momentum, which leads them into another heavy braking zone and into the inner loop, better known as the “bus stop” section of the course. Hot on the brakes upon entry, this is a great place to overtake someone before making a quick series of right- and left-hand turns. Lots of slipping, sliding and spinning happens here.
● Turn 5, aka the “Carousel”: This is a long, sweeping right-hander. Banked at 10 degrees, it is the steepest turn of the course, and it allows drivers to build up speed as they make their way onto the straightaway leading into turn six.
● Turn 6: After gaining speed while traveling down the 2,040-foot chute, drivers are approached with another heavy braking zone at the entrance of this left-hand corner. Competitors use this turn to either make a quick pass or to set themselves up for a pass heading into the final corner.
● Turn 7: Once they are through turn six, a short chute gives the drivers just enough time to adjust to make a good angle through the final corner. This is another chance to make a quality pass as the right-hand bend trickles drivers onto the frontstretch and down to the start-finish line.● Bed Bath & Beyond adorns Gragson’s No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at The Glen. The partnership celebrates Bed Bath & Beyond as the ultimate online destination for home essentials, featuring an unmatched assortment for every room of the house. Whether it’s your kitchen, bedroom, outdoor space or bathroom, Bed Bath & Beyond has what you need to create a space that feels uniquely yours. From cookware and bedding to bath accessories and beyond, Bed Bath & Beyond is your go-to source for functional and stylish home essentials.
Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse
How would you rate yourself as a road-course driver?
“I would probably rate myself, on a scale of 1-10, as a seven on road courses. Not terrible, but always trying to improve. I felt like I picked up road-course racing pretty well and had a lot of success in the Legend Car ranks and Bandoleros, and then moving on up into the K&N Series, I ran really well. I had opportunities to win some Truck races, ran in the top-five a lot and led laps in the Xfinity Series, but never got a win in either Trucks or Xfinity, but was always a contender. But then in the Cup Series, man, it’s challenging, everybody’s good. You used to have the road-course ringers, but now, not so much. I used to take a lot more pride in my road-course efforts coming up through the ranks, but now everybody’s so super good that I’m probably an average guy. I don’t think I’m terrible at it, but I’m not elite at it, either.”
Some guys like road courses, others don’t. Where do you stand when it comes to competing on road courses?
“We used to just have two or three, or maybe only one on the Truck schedule, and my thinking was, ‘Oh man, this’ll be cool, I’ll get to do something different.’ Now there are five road courses – at one point, there were seven on the schedule – so it’s a big chunk of our season. You have to be good at it, but I’d also say it’s just another race where you have to carry the same amount of intensity. It felt a little more unique and special when there was just a limited number of road courses.”
Six Cup Series starts on road courses and 21 road-course starts in Xfinity, where you finished among the top-five nearly 50 percent of the time, and top-10 all but three times. You’ve had success on road courses, but what makes success on road courses at the Cup level so much harder?
“Cup cars are definitely a lot different to drive than Trucks, Xfinity cars and K&N cars. They’re more like a sports car with the independent rear suspension, so just trying to figure that out – my first-ever road-course race in a Cup car came at the Roval in 2022 and the shifting, everything, is just a little bit different than what you’re used to. The brakes are massive, you can really push the braking zones, and you’re just hustling the car all the way around the racetrack. You can’t hit curbs as much because of the shock limiters where you used to just motor over curbs. They’re a lot more aggressive with the front steering, so you can maneuver very well with these cars, and they respond very well. It’s kind of a mix between an F1 car and one of the old stock cars like the Gen 6 stock car with how you get around these tracks. But with that being said, it’s been a little bit of a change of pace, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
What do you work on to become a better road-course racer?
“I think just constant reps in the sim has been the best for me. I’ve also worked with Carter Fartuch, who’s been a road-course instructor at the Skip Barber Racing School at COTA. Been there for two years now, got a lot of help from him, he’s been a big part of our road-course program the last two years, so that was really good and I appreciate his knowledge. On top of that, just a lot of laps in the simulator seeing where you can try different things and improve your times.”
The current Cup cars seem exceptionally suited to road-course racing to where they’re forgiving and drivers aren’t penalized for mistakes. Because of that, it seems like there’s more rooting and gouging out on the racetrack than ever before. What’s your take?
“I don’t know if it’s harder to pass, but everyone’s really, really close on their lap times, so the final restarts are just chaos. You’ve got to screw the other guy before he screws you on a restart. If you spin him out, so be it, or else you’re going to be the one being spun out. It makes it exciting for the fans, I can say that.”
With track position at such a premium on road courses, can you afford to be nice, or do you need to have a selfish and unforgiving attitude?
“I definitely think it ramps up late in the race. You let guys go in certain areas, like if it’s the middle of the race and there’s no point in abusing your stuff, especially if you’re not the leader or going for the lead, there’s no point. I always felt like there’s time lost to the leader when you’re battling a guy, you’re just slowing each other down. You’re not going to get lapped, but you’re still slowing each other down. If he runs you down, just point him by and let him go because you’re only losing time to the leader.”
How important is qualifying at road courses? Has it become a bit like Formula One where track position is so precious that in order to finish up front, you really need to start up front?
“Absolutely. It’s really hard to pass. Everybody is so close on speed, especially in the Cup Series. With this NextGen car on these road courses, it definitely is somewhat like Formula One, where the winner’s probably going to come from the top-five unless there’s somebody absolutely elite and they messed up their qualifying lap and start deeper in the field. But everyone’s so close that it’s really hard to find that advantage, so between strategy and starting up front, that’s where these races are won.”
No. 10 Bed Bath & Beyond Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Noah Gragson
Hometown: Las Vegas
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Hometown: Decatur, Illinois
Car Chief: Jerry Cook
Hometown: Toledo, Ohio
Engineer: James Kimbrough
Hometown: Pensacola, Florida
Spotter: Andy Houston
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder
Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa
Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard
Hometown: King, North Carolina
Jack Man: Sean Cotten
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener
Hometown: Fortuna, California
Road Crew Members
Mechanic: Chris Trickett
Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia
Mechanic: Beau Whitley
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
Tire Specialist: Jacob Cooksey
Hometown: Westbrookville, New York
Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller
Hometown: Monroe, New York
Transporter Co-Driver: Steve Casper
Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina
Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy
Hometown: Augusta, Georgia
