Jerry Freeze reveals why Front Row Motorsports gave Noah Gragson an extension

After much uncertainty around his NASCAR Cup Series future, Front Row Motorsports officially gave Noah Gragson a one-year contract extension last week, ensuring that the Las Vegas native will drive the No. 4 FRM Ford for at least one more season. The extension also comes with options to extend it further.

Gragson, 28, is in his second year with FRM and at his third organization in four Cup Series seasons. He has only 12 top 10s in 135 starts and is 31st in the standings through 24 races this season.

But Front Row GM Jerry Freeze and competition director Drew Blickensderfer clearly see something in Gragson, who is a 13-time winner in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and has flashed his talent at times in his Cup career. 

Why FRM gave Noah Gragson extension

"He had to adapt from the culture he had been in at Stewart-Haas into Front Row's culture and what were asking to get prepared Monday through Friday," Freeze said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "When this year didn't get off to the start that we wanted, it would've been easy for everybody to start pointing fingers and, 'Hey, this isn't working, change this guy out.' 

"I feel like Noah in particular has kind of recentered and refocused with what he's doing. We've had a few challenging races where I think things weren't going our way. I think he was getting frustrated early in the year. I think he looked at himself in the mirror, or maybe his listened to his own radio transmission after that race and thought, 'Man, I'm part of the problem too here.'"

Freeze said that Gragson has been a better teammate to Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith this season and has become more of a leader within the organization. 

"That's a maturation," Freeze said. "He's got some miles under his belt now. He's got to be a leader. He's evolving into that type of role."