NASCAR star reveals why time was right to open up on father's fatal DUI conviction

NASCAR driver Noah Gragson has revealed why the time was right to open up on his father's conviction following a fatal DUI in 2019.

Noah's father, Scott Gragson, was a wealthy and well-known real estate executive in Las Vegas when, in 2019, he was involved in a fatal DUI. He pleaded guilty to the offence and was later sentenced to serve eight to 20 years in prison in 2020.

Over the years, the Front Row Motorsports driver has been reticent to discuss the topic, but that all changed when the latest installment of NASCAR: Full Speed dropped on Prime Video.

In a sit-down interview, a visibly emotional Gragson really opened up to the cameras, sharing how his father's conviction had affected him and his family, and his outlook on things.

Noah Gragson reveals why he opened up on father

Now, in a new interview with Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, Gragson has opened up on why he felt the time was right to discuss all of the above.

"The time has passed where I’ve become more comfortable with the situation and stuff," he explained. "I just never really talked about it publicly because I wasn’t really comfortable with it. Now I’ve kind of taken the approach of, 'That’s a part of my journey. That’s a chapter in my life that makes me who I am', so it’s kind of owning, 'Hey, this is the situation that I’m in, and this is part of my life.'"

"I try not to hide anything," Gragson continued. "I try to be an open book. But I felt like Full Speed was the biggest platform I’ve been on to really give people a behind-the-scenes look at who I am as a person and the driver I am, and the son and brother and friend I am to people. It just seemed like it was the appropriate time for me to tell that story.

"I’ve had the opportunity to go on the Dale Jr. Download [podcast] and talk to Dale, but I’ve always told him no just because I felt like that was going to be brought up, and I don’t know if I was ready for that question.

"We sat down and did a Zoom call with the Amazon Prime people, and I was like, 'Hey, I’m willing to tell you guys anything.'

"I told them the story about my dad, and I said, 'You guys can put that in there if you need to.'"

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What did Gragson say on NASCAR: Full Speed?

Speaking on NASCAR Full Speed, here is what Gragson had to say about his father's situation.

"My situation is different,” a visibly emotional Gragson explained. "Back in 2019, my dad was involved with a fatal DUI. It’s changed my life. It’s changed my family’s life. It’s changed other families’ lives. It's changed a lot of people's lives around us.

“He's in prison now. I maybe get to talk to him once a week. You can go visit on Sundays. I race every Sunday, so it makes it really tough.

“You know, he’s my dad. I love him. But I’ve still got my life that I’ve got to live. I just try to take the positive from it because it f*****g sucks. That’s the hand that you’re dealt.

"You’re grateful for what you got, people you got around you. There’s more to life than bad finishes in racing."