Noah Gragson Inks Full-time Cup Deal with Petty GMS

Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs

The King just added a new member to his royal court. Noah Gragson has signed a multiyear deal to join Petty GMS as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver of the No. 42 Chevy for 2023.

Las Vegas native Gragson leaves his four-year association as an Xfinity Series driver with JR Motorsports to replace Ty Dillon for the Richard Petty/Maury Gallagher team. Dillon previously announced his decision not to return next season.

With Gragson, Petty GMS gains an impressive driver. Currently fourth in the Xfinity Series standings, Gragson has three wins this season with the No. 9 team at JRM after finishing the 2021 season in third place.

On the Cup side, Gragson has made nine starts in 2022: two driving for Beard Motorsports and seven driving for Kaulig Racing. Of those starts, his best finish is 18th at Kansas Speedway in a Matt Kauling Chevy.

As skilled as he is behind the wheel, Gragson also boasts some aggressiveness in the driver's seat, having recently been fined $35,000 for a payback crash at the Road America race, which also earned him a significant points penalty. That aggressiveness may pay off for him in a Cup car, according to his new owner.

"[I] might have to calm him down a little bit, but the way that Cup racing is now, he's got to be aggressive. I just hope that we can calm him down where he's not too aggressive, but he's going to be a learning process because Xfinity is a little bit different crowd of people... When it comes to Cup, he's going to have to learn to respect his other drivers," Petty said.

 

The move will reunite Gragson with Dave Elenz, his former crew chief at JRM.