Yahoo Autos Why Front Row believes Gragson is the ‘whole package’
Front Row Motorsports had Noah Gragson at the top of their board.
It was the only name the organization needed, landing Gragson in a multiyear deal announced Wednesday. Gragson’s team program will be laid out in the coming weeks as the organization leaves car numbers and other details open until its full driver lineup is finalized. But in the meantime, the organization got the driver it wanted in 25-year-old Gragson.
“I think for the whole package,” Front Row general manager Jerry Freeze said in explaining its choice. “I think once he got in the 10 car this year, you saw what he was capable of on the track. He could run up in the top 10, and he doesn’t seem to take any flak on the racetrack. Kyle Busch is mad at him one week and this guy is mad at him the next week, and I kind of like that. He’s not out there to make friends.
“We saw his success in the Truck Series. We saw his success in the Xfinity Series. Last year was incredibly rocky for him, but he’s rebounded, and he’s gotten into a good operation.”
Freeze did his due diligence before Gragson was signed. One of the individuals Freeze spoke to was Drew Blickensderfer, who previously worked at Front Row Motorsports. Blickensderfer is Gragson’s current crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing, working with a young driver after spending multiple years overseeing teams for veterans Michael McDowell and Aric Almirola.
One of the questions Freeze asked Blickensderfer, “’Well, how is it going with this crazy kid?’
“He was so glowing in his praise for Noah with what he’s done in the offseason building those relationships with them — the road crew, pit crew, marketing and all of that. Everything I heard talking to friends of mine about Noah with Stewart-Haas was positive and he was the fastest guy in their stable arguably the first seven or eight races. So, when we knew Michael was moving on and the opportunity to get the charter and man, we’re going to have to find two drivers here, it was like, who is available? I just thought he could be the whole package of a young guy with some experience, a lot of talent, a lot of success in the lower series, who is looking to make his mark, and marketable.”
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Freeze was surprised to see how popular Gragson is with race fans. Gragson appeared in the top-10 trackside sales reports multiple times last season, which Freeze saw because they are sent to teams.
“So, I just think it’s the whole package he brings to the table,” Freeze said.
“Some guys are really good drivers and might be a challenge marketability-wise but I think he checked all the boxes for what you look for.”
Gragson, Todd Gilliland and a third driver to be announced will have Front Row Motorsports fielding three full-time entries next season for the first time since 2019. The organization announced May 29 that it had purchased a third charter.
The expansion wasn’t necessarily surprising to Freeze, who said it happened quickly. In fact, he vividly remembers the day at Bristol when teams began hearing there would be a chance to make offers on charters. Bob Jenkins, the owner of Front Row Motorsports, was so excited that it made Freeze shake a bit.
“We had three charters for one year when we bought BK Racing out of bankruptcy, and it was a huge challenge for us,” Freeze said. “We weren’t ready at that point to run three cars and we quickly sold off that charter and focused on two cars. But I know in the years since Bob has regretted we sold that charter. Bob is a self-made guy… and to him, incremental growth is the key to success.
“He always regretted that we sold that charter and so I think he wished we would have stayed the course with three teams. So, when he found out, hey, there’s an opportunity to get in on possibly acquiring another charter, even though the price had jumped quite a bit from the last time, he believes in this sport in the long term enough that he wanted to make that investment. It was kind of on from Bristol.”
