Gragson set to return at Nashville

Noah Gragson has been cleared to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition and will be back behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. Gragson, a rookie for Legacy Motor Club, missed the June 11 race at Sonoma …

Noah Gragson has been cleared to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition and will be back behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.

Gragson, a rookie for Legacy Motor Club, missed the June 11 race at Sonoma Raceway due to concussion-like symptoms following his crash at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 4.

A brake rotor issue with 43 laps to go led to the crash. Gragson had an issue going into Turn 1 and admitted he tried to spin through the inside grass to help slow the car but ended up spinning across the track and hitting the outside wall with the left side of his Chevrolet.

“It was a hard (expletive) hit for sure,” Gragson said afterward.

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Gragson began suffering concussion-like symptoms during the middle of the following week. The NASCAR Cup Series then had an off-weekend following the event at Sonoma, allowing him additional time to recover.

Gragson is 33rd in the championship standings and has been granted a playoff waiver by NASCAR. His best finish this season is 12th at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Nashville (Sunday, 7 p.m. ET) begins a stretch of 20 consecutive race weekends to conclude the season.