Noah Gragson felt as good as ever in his Friday return to his Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway.
He was cleared to return to competition earlier this week after missing the last NASCAR Cup Series race with concussion-like symptoms. He did not compete June 11 at Sonoma Raceway, and the off weekend gave a further weekend to continue his recovery.
Friday’s practice session was an extended one for teams with 50 minutes of track time. Gragson, who was 32nd fastest in the session, doesn’t believe it made much of a difference regarding his re-acclimation process but it was still nice to have.
“I feel mentally sharp, as good as I felt before we wrecked,” Gragson said. “The main thing was to feel we’re 100 percent, and even when I felt 50 percent, I was like, ‘Man, I feel 100.’ Then a few days later, I got to 100, and it was really 95 percent.
“I feel ready to go and excited to get back behind the wheel.”
Gragson was injured on June 4 in St. Louis at World Wide Technology Raceway when he hit the Turn 1 wall with the driver’s side. A brake rotor failure going into the corner caused the incident, which saw Gragson try to spin through the inside grass to slow his car down.
The symptoms began to appear Tuesday after the St. Louis race. When they continued and worsened into Wednesday, Gragson acknowledged he needed to seek medical attention and was glad to have the time to rest and get back where needed.
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“I knew something wasn’t right when we got to Wednesday,” Gragson said.
It was not a tough decision to speak up about his condition. He initially told Legacy Motor Club he was going to do his best to race at Sonoma, but as the symptoms lingered, he realized it wasn’t like other hard hits in the past.
“It was one of those deals where I made the decision and told the guys,” Gragson said. “I didn’t feel any self-guilt or anything. I wasn’t too bummed out; I knew Grant (Enfinger) would do a good job.
“The way this year’s been going, I think it made the decision a little easier compared to years past. Competing for a championship in the Xfinity Series and going to the racetrack knowing you’re going to have a really good shot to win the race every weekend, battling for the points lead, that’s a different situation. But with that being said, it’s what we came up with and were ready to regroup this weekend.”
Through the process, Gragson talked to drivers who suffered similar injuries, such as Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, ad Dale Earnhardt Jr. At the suggestion of the doctor, he was working with, Gragson also put himself in busy environments to get his brain used to the stimulation. One of those was Game 5 of the NHL playoffs when his native Las Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Stanley Cup.
“That was Tuesday after Sonoma, so I was starting to feel pretty close to 95 percent,” said Gragson. “I’d say this past week, I started feeling 100 percent … not getting as bad of headaches or feeling fatigued. I’ve taken a lot of hard hits throughout the Xfinity Series cars, last year in the Cup Series cars, and never have I had the feeling of symptoms that lasted so long throughout the week leading up to the next race.
“Normally, it’s the next day you’re pretty sore, and Tuesday you’re ready to get back to it. But these symptoms, they kept getting worse Tuesday, got worse Wednesday, and it was the first time I needed to go get help and treatment.
“A big thanks to NASCAR and their protocol, the team for believing in me, and Grant for filling in. It definitely was not a good position, but it was good to get some rest, and I feel good now.”