“He has a ton of free time on his hands”: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. clears the air on friendly Twitter beef with Noah Gragson

A lighthearted exchange on X (formerly Twitter) between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Noah Gragson recently caught the attention of NASCAR fans. It took place in the lead-up to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Phoenix Raceway. The exchange left some fans bemused and wondering whether it was just a case of playful banter or some tension simmering between the two.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. put the conjecture to bed, clarifying that the interaction was all in good spirits. He explained that Gragson enjoys joking around and giving people a hard time, so he just played along. This was shared during a NASCAR media interaction.

"Noah likes to have a lot of fun and give people a hard time, so I like giving it back to him," said Stenhouse Jr. during the media interaction.

Before replying to Gragson’s post, Stenhouse Jr. made sure it would be taken the right way. He even gave Gragson a heads-up before posting.

"Before I sent one tweet back to him yesterday, I told him I was sending one," he revealed. Gragson, known for his lively personality on social media, was quick to respond and had already prepared a comeback.

"He says—well, I got one in the chamber ready to send back," Stenhouse Jr. added.

"He seems like he has a ton of free time on his hands, so I’m sure he’s always looking for ways to spice things up," he joked.

Both drivers are fairly popular in NASCAR. Stenhouse Jr., who drives the No. 47 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hyak Motorsports, is coming off a victory at the YellaWood 500 at Talladega in October 2024. He also won the 2023 Daytona 500.

Meanwhile, Gragson drives full-time for Front Row Motorsports. He recently secured a career-best third-place finish at Talladega in 2024.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on racing strategies and tire choices at Phoenix

As the conversation shifted to the upcoming race at Phoenix Raceway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. talked about tire strategies and their potential impact. With two tire options available, teams are expected to act with wisdom. For Stenhouse Jr. and his single-car team, the decision is even more vital compared to larger teams that could test multiple strategies.

Stenhouse Jr. admitted, referring to the limited data his team had compared to powerhouse organizations like Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing. Those teams could analyze multiple sets of data, while Hyak Motorsports had only their own to rely on.

“Definitely doesn’t help,” he said.

Stenhouse Jr. prefers the softer tire option, believing it offered better performance, but also admitted that having two choices gave teams flexibility if conditions changed. He also pointed to previous races like Richmond, where softer tires wore out quickly, forcing teams to adjust their strategies. He expected Phoenix to be somewhat similar.

"I think at Richmond, you get a lot of tire wear in general, and so the softer tire wore out and there were different strategies to be had. I think here, you're probably going to save them for the last two runs if you want a good finish," he explained.

Pit stop management could be another big factor. Stenhouse Jr. and his crew chief, Mike Kelley, plan to monitor how top teams handle green-flag pit stops and tire changes. Reacting in real-time would be the game changer.

"If you’ve got somebody that pits and puts the options on versus the primes and is trying to get a stage win, now all of a sudden they're running quite a bit faster. So we might have to react if we are in the position of trying to stay on the lead lap or something like that," he said.

Stenhouse Jr. later admitted that Phoenix had been a tough track for his team in recent years. He backed this by saying that they struggled there in both races last season.