AUSTIN, TX. -- Noah Gragson donned his Rush Truck Centers cowboy hat Sunday evening and leaned against his car for a few moments of much-needed rest. He had just completed a marathon day at Circuit of the Americas with a top-10 finish.
More importantly, Gragson had snapped a two-race streak of poor finishes that erased solid performances.
"When you don't finish them, doesn't matter how good you run during the race," Gragson said on pit road. "It just matters what that scoreboard says at the end of the day."
Gragson, who moved to Front Row Motorsports this season, kicked off the year with two finishes of 28th or worse. He was collected in an eight-car incident during the final stage of the Daytona 500 and ended the day with only nine points.
One week later, Gragson qualified 10th at Atlanta and scored one stage point. However, an eight-car crash led to a 34th-place finish. He left the Georgia track with only four points.
This weekend's race at COTA featured some early struggles for Gragson and the No. 4 team. They missed out on stage points during the first two stages while dealing with some handling issues but began making a charge during the final stage when it truly counted.
Through it all, Gragson and his team remained calm.
Sound off from The Mayor.@NoahGragson | @rushtruckcenter pic.twitter.com/nge0dAqk8z
— Front Row Motorsports (@Team_FRM) March 3, 2025
"Some people, it's not driving good at the beginning of the race, they might quit, but we never quit on this team," Gragson added. "Super proud of everyone's efforts.
"It was not looking good the first run. The first run, we were horrible, and they went to work on it. Pit crew did a great job. Crew chief (Drew Blickensderfer) called a great race, and we were able to get up there at the end."
A key moment in this comeback effort occurred during the final stage. Gragson was in the top 10 racing behind road course aces Shane van Gisbergen and Tyler Reddick. He was looking for an opportunity to make a pass as the two drivers battled for position.
This moment came much earlier than he expected. The two drivers got next to each other and slowed, so he dove to Reddick's right and partially bounced through the grass while making the pass.
"I saw them getting into each other, and I was just going to try and be patient, let them get to Turn 19, and then they got each other again," Gragson explained. "Think Tyler was on the inside.
"We were three wide at one point, bouncing off the road blocks. It was pretty wild, but we all raced each other super hard and super clean."
This unorthodox move surprised Blickensderfer, but it was one he appreciated.
"I thought we were gonna have a pretty good day if we just got out of that first corner after the last restart with 13 to go or whatever," he told AltDriver with a smile on his face. "But when I saw that (move), it got even better yet."
This rebound was nothing surprising for Blickensderfer, who guided Gragson last season at Stewart-Haas Racing.
The veteran crew chief saw the never-quit attitude when they worked on the No. 10 team last season. Sure, learning that SHR would go from four teams to only one as it transformed into Haas Factory Team caused a brief hiccup, but Blickensderfer felt that he and Gragson really hit their stride after they both landed opportunities at Front Row Motorsports.
"It's just confidence in each other," Blickensderfer said. "I believe in his abilities as a race car driver. He trusts me. It's something that I think takes time to build for drivers and crew chiefs.
"We kind of got a hiccup in the middle of last year, but it feels good to be together. I know when he talks what it means, and he knows when I talk what it means."
The comeback effort by the No. 4 team paid off. They scored a combined 13 points in the first two weeks of the season. They locked up 29 at Circuit of the Americas.
Plenty of work remains, considering that Gragson is still 27th in points. Yet he and the team have more confidence exiting the Texas road course.
They have seen that they can run door-to-door with some of the biggest names in the Cup Series and can outperform many of them while battling through adversity.
For Gragson, it just felt good to run up front again. Blickensderfer was just happy to see his driver get the chance to showcase his hard work.
"The Noah outside of the car that a lot of people see is like a completely different kid inside the car. He's calculated, he's smooth, he's under control.
"I'm glad he got to see, get some benefits for that mentality today."