STATESVILLE, N.C. — On the walls of the Petty GMS Cup shop here, are the words of NFL star Terry Bradshaw: “When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.”
The nine-month-old Petty GMS team has adopted this mindset from the very beginning and are planning to prove their potential with Noah Gragson joining the team as its second NASCAR Cup Series driver next season.
Gragson will be moving up from the Xfinity Series to race full time in the Cup Series in 2023, taking the wheel of the No. 42 from Ty Dillon.
“We’re looking for caliber drivers who can win championships,” Petty GMS Chairman and NASCAR legend Richard Petty said, giving a nod to the 24-year-old Gragson seated beside him. “I think I’ve seen improvement in what he’s doing the past two, three years. I can see he’s now able to run for a championship.”
Gragson is currently in his fourth full season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which was a natural progression from his success in the Camping World Truck Series in 2017 and ’18. He sits fourth in the Xfinity Series standings, with three wins to his credit so far this year.
Gragson, who races for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, has made several Cup Series starts with Kaulig Racing this season.
“I think it’s amazing what he’s done in a short period of time, he’s going to fit in well,” said Mike Beam, president of Petty GMS. “It was a no brainer for us. We just hoped we could get the deal done.”
The team is committed to a five-year plan of getting in position to contend for wins and eventually, for championships. Bringing Gragson onto the team for 2023 was a crucial step, in their mind, towards achieving that.
“We don’t have time, we’ve gotta go,” Beam said. “We’re not going to mess around here.”
At 66 years old, Beam isn’t willing to wait around for results. While team owner Maury Gallagher and Beam are jointly invested in doing their part to further the career of young driving talents, there is also a certain pressure to perform.
The team made the decision to sign Gragson to take over the No. 42 after only one year of having Dillion in the driver’s seat – a result of their drive to win.
“Noah brings the youth that you have to have,” Beam said. With 36 races on the schedule, Beam adds, “It’s a grind.”
Petty GMS’ recent success in the Cup Series with the No. 43 of Erik Jones has also confirmed the team is on the right path – Jones has taken home two top-five finishes and eight top-10’s this season. The results have required a combination of hiring the right people and feeling a certain amount of hope for what’s possible.
Gragson believes the expectations of Petty GMS for the 2023 season are realistic.
“They want to win races…right now, my goal is to finish every race this season,” Gragson said.
Luckily, he’ll already have some laps driving the Next Gen car under his belt when he debuts with Petty GMS next season. He added, “The car’s a lot different than anything that I’ve ever driven and getting that experience this year, I think it’s definitely going to help next year.”
Gragson’s move up to the Cup Series has also been made easy by the team itself.
He compares the atmosphere of Petty GMS to JR Motorsports. It was important to Gragson that he ended up with a family-built race team where he was comfortable and felt that he could perform his best.
“It’s all about the people that you surround yourself with,” Gragson said. “[Petty GMS] is a place that I can grow at and learn at. It has all the pieces for me to succeed.”
As NASCAR “King” Petty observes the transition Gragson is making from Xfinity to the Cup Series, he knows from experience that it will take time for the new No. 42 driver to learn how to be patient on the track and become familiar with the car.
Although results are expected from the rookie, a significant part of Gragson’s job behind the wheel is to finish every lap, to gain experience and to simply welcome the challenge.
Gragson’s first race with Petty GMS will be at the Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum in February 2023.