It’s been a particularly long week for Legacy Motor Club.
News broke that Cup Series rookie Noah Gragson, 25, requested and was granted his release from LMC as driver of the #42 Chevrolet. This comes after Gragson had been unceremoniously suspended by NASCAR for liking an offensive meme on Instagram which made light of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020.
Both Gragson and LMC CEO Cal Wells III released statements via social media this morning.
Debates circulated online on whether the suspension was warranted – with some saying it was an appropriate response due to the incendiary nature of the content, while others felt as though suspending a driver over liking a meme was a gross overreaction by NASCAR. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, there is something most people can probably agree on:
This move might just work out best for both parties.
Prior to his suspension, Gragson, had been putting on one of the worst rookie campaigns for a reasonably hyped-up driver in recent memory. Granted he was driving the second car for a not hyper-competitive team in Legacy Motor Club, but he was sitting 33rd in points and had only collected two top-20’s across the season’s first 22 races, an unacceptably bad mark for a team that had already collected 10 such finishes by this point last season with Ty Dillon behind the wheel. Add to that his six DNF’s and it is safe to say Gragson has fallen well short of even tempered expectations.
But it would be unwise to blame it all on the driver, particularly given how much success Gragson had in the Xfinity Series – the talent is obviously there, but you can only do so much with cars that aren’t good enough.
After looking poised for a breakout campaign following some fantastic runs by Erik Jones in 2022, Legacy Motor Club has taken an obvious step backward in 2023. While at least the 43 has turned things around a bit as of late, the team still only has five top-10’s on the year, no top-5’s, and thanks to a huge L1 penalty earlier in the season Jones currently sits 28th in points.
Ultimately, it seems as though the terrible 2023 campaign for the 42 car is a combination of a team taking a step backwards, and a driver that simply is not a good fit for the situation.
Gragson leaving the team allows him the opportunity to find a team that is a better fit – assuming he can find a team willing to overlook his recent gaffes. Gragson is one of the sport’s bigger and more marketable personalities (if not a bit abrasive at times). If he can find the right situation, and can learn from this recent blunder, he should be able to thrive.
Meanwhile, the split gives LMC the opportunity to fill the remaining races with specialists and talented one-off drivers, while hopefully finding someone who is a better fit for a mid-pack team trying to take the next step forward.
Looking back, the pairing of Noah Gragson with Legacy Motor Club seems to have just been a round peg vs. square hole type of situation. It happens – now, both parties need to move on.
Photo Credit: Pat Vallely
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