It has been a tumultuous rookie marketing campaign for Noah Gragson within the NASCAR Cup Collection, and on Saturday issues took one other flip. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, which fields the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that Gragson drives, has suspended Gragson for this weekend’s FireKeepers On line casino 400 at Michigan Worldwide Speedway.
Based on the crew, JR Motorsports racer Josh Berry will pilot the automobile this weekend.
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB made the announcement by way of a quick assertion on Saturday, which learn, “We’ve got made the choice to droop Noah Gragson efficient instantly concerning his actions that don’t signify the values of our crew. Josh Berry will drive the No. 42 entry for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Collection race at Michigan.”
Whereas the crew has not confirmed the official purpose, the suspension appears to have stemmed from a questionable like on Instagram by Gragson on a George Floyd meme, which was unearthed by social media customers. Floyd’s loss of life in Could of 2020, whereas in police custody, sparked riots throughout america.
Gragson accepted the suspension and issued the next assertion by way of X (previously Twitter), which confirms the suspension was associated to social media, “I’m disillusioned in myself for my lack of consideration and actions on social media. I perceive the severity of this example. I like and respect each one. I attempt to deal with everybody equally irrespective of who they’re. I tousled plain and easy.”
Following the suspension of Gragson, which got here instantly from LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, NASCAR issued an announcement supporting the crew’s determination and states that Gragson is indefinitely suspended from NASCAR competitors.
“NASCAR absolutely helps Legacy Motor Membership’s determination to droop Noah Gragson. Following his actions on social media, NASCAR has decided that Gragson has violated the Member Conduct part of the 2023 NASCAR Rule E-book and has positioned him underneath indefinite suspension,” the assertion from NASCAR learn.
Michigan Worldwide Speedway will mark the second race missed by Gragson throughout his rookie season within the NASCAR Cup Collection. Gragson additionally missed the occasion at Sonoma Raceway whereas recovering from concussion-like signs following a tough crash at World Broad Know-how at Gateway.
Gragson sits thirty third within the NASCAR Cup Collection championship standings after 22 races in 2023. The 25-year-old driver has but to attain a top-10 end on the 12 months and has a finest end of twelfth, which got here at Atlanta Motor Speedway within the spring.
