Denny Hamlin took a while to foretell the place sure drivers will end the 2024 NASCAR Cup Sequence season, and one of many drivers he centered on was Noah Gragson.
Gragson is returning to the Cup Sequence after a tough exit from Legacy Motor Membership final season, driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024. It’s a possibility that Gragson is valuing, and he’s hoping to show his doubters mistaken this season.
On the newest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin evaluated Gragson’s over/below for the place he might end within the level standings, setting it at 22. Evidently, it’s one thing that the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman has gone backwards and forwards on.
“I simply don’t know what to make of Noah, as a result of I do know he’s labored actually, actually onerous. He’s tremendous motivated,” Hamlin defined. “It’s lots of like, what does Stewart-Haas do that yr? I believe, have they got a resurgence? Do they keep the identical? I don’t assume they worsen.
“I’m wanting on the drivers he’ll most likely must leapfrog. It’s powerful, however I’ll most likely say worse. However it’s shut. It’s shut.”
So Hamlin gained’t go together with the over simply but on Gragson’s season. Nonetheless, he’s not counting him out in 2024, particularly in the course of the Daytona 500 this weekend, the place something can and normally does occur.
“I imply, he might win the Daytona 500. I imply, realistically talking, nothing is a shock within the 500 anymore,” Hamlin added. “I imply, the previous couple of winners we’ve had have been [Michael] McDowell, [Austin] Cindric and [Ricky] Stenhouse. So that you simply by no means know. … However I simply don’t know. It will not shock me if Noah goes on the market and contends for a playoff spot. It additionally wouldn’t shock me on the planet if he’s within the low 20s. So I’m unsure.
“I believe it’s simply form of depending on the group, and whether or not they take the step, which I believe with the brand new automotive, they most likely ought to, or would.”
Evidently, Hamlin believes Gragson has the expertise to contend for a playoff spot in 2024, however it’s going to rely upon how Stewart-Haas rebounds from a tough season in 2023. With a youthful driver lineup and even a refreshed emblem, maybe the staff might shock this season.
We’ll see if Denny Hamlin is correct about Noah Gragson falling beneath P22 within the NASCAR standings, or if the motive force of the No. 10 Ford will flip some heads this season. Time will inform, however Gragson’s expertise is there, he simply has to place all of it collectively.
