Noah Gragson will go to a backup car for Sunday's inaugural Cup Series race in Mexico City after an incident in the first of two practice sessions.
Gragson suddenly veered off the course on Friday afternoon with a flat left front tire on the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang. He pulled into the runoff area of the track as William Byron and Justin Haley continued navigating the course.
Early trouble for @NoahGragson! pic.twitter.com/w8LMz1Tscu
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 13, 2025
It initially appeared that Gragson had avoided major damage in the practice incident. However, replay showed that the left side of the Ford tagged the wall before going over the rumble strips. This bent the front clip on the No. 4.
Front Row Motorsports confirmed that the team would go to a backup car. The social media team posted a video of the backup car rolling off the hauler and through the garage area.
This incident prevented Gragson from gaining experience at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. He only completed three laps before hitting the wall. His fastest lap was 94.749 seconds, which was 21st in the field.
MORE: Practice 1 results
MORE: Practice 2 results
One of Gragson's teammates, Todd Gilliland, was the 10th-fastest driver in the opening 50-minute practice session. His best lap was 94.412 seconds. He then posted the fastest time (93.496) during the second practice session, which lasted 25 minutes.
Gilliland, as well as Zane Smith, will be able to provide Gragson with some information about the course and the best spots to make moves. Yet, this will not be the same as Gragson completing laps on his own.
The next time the Las Vegas native takes on Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will be on Saturday afternoon. Gragson and the other Cup Series drivers will take part in qualifying at 2:05 p.m. ET (Prime Video).
Gragson has three top-10 finishes this season, his first with Front Row Motorsports. One of these was an eighth-place finish at Circuit of the Americas. This was the only road course race the drivers have completed this season.