Noah Gragson swaps his helmet with “best friend and new teammate” ahead of 2025 NASCAR season

Noah Gragson is off to a strong start with new teammate Zane Smith as the 2025 NASCAR season approaches. In an Instagram post, Gragson shared a photo of himself swapping helmets with Smith, whom he considers his best friend.

Gragson is a 26-year-old professional stock car racing driver who competes in NASCAR. Like Smith, the Las Vegas native will enter the upcoming season as a new driver for Front Row Motorsports.

Regarding the helmet swap, Gragson wrote:

"Helmet trade with my best friend and new teammate 🔥😮‍💨🤝 LFG 🥶 who's next for a trade?"

Before joining Front Row Motorsports, Gragson ran a one-year stint with the now-discontinued Stewart-Haas Racing team. One of SHR's charters was transferred to Front Row Motorsports, allowing the team to expand to three cars.

The new third car was assigned to Zane Smith. He previously drove for Spire Motorsports in a loan deal from Trackhouse House but the latter team dismissed him after the 2024 season to make room for Shane van Gisbergen.

Gragson and Smith will team up with Todd Gilliland for the 2025 season.

Speaking of Gilliland, Gragson also swapped helmets with him earlier this month. Gragson expressed excitement about swapping helmets with Gilliland after competing alongside and against each other. He wrote:

"Been through a lot of ups and downs with this guy! Pumped to trade helmets with @toddgilliland_ now that we're teammates again, cheers to the helmet swap, also ... sorry about Canada."

Perhaps the Canada incident Gragson referred to was the Craftsman Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2018. The then-teammates were battling for the lead on the final lap when they made contact with each other and spun out.

They will reunite as teammates at Front Row Motorsports alongside Zane Smith. The trio is set to become one of the youngest teams in the field.

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Noah Gragson shared an update on lost helmet during a flight to Charlotte

Last November, Noah Gragson lost his helmet on a flight to Charlotte after the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Fortunately, American Airlines coordinated the return of his lost item.

In an Instagram post, the 26-year-old wrote:

“We're so back!!! Thank you to American Airlines and everyone of you who have helped to get the helmet back! Was bummed last night pretty bad but so excited now."

The ex-Stewart Haas Racing driver also shared a photo of himself embracing the helmet while seated on a plane.

"Won't be letting this thing out of my sight🤝😮‍💨👀," Gragson said.

Noah Gragson concluded his one-year run with SHR with one top-5 finish at the Talladega Superspeedway. He also amassed seven top-10 finishes and led 13 laps.

Gragson will pilot the No. 4 Ford for Front Row Motorsports this time around. He will compete alongside teammates Todd Gilliland (No. 34) and Zane Smith (No. 38).

The trio will debut in the Daytona 500 on February 16 amid FRM's ongoing antitrust lawsuit battle against NASCAR.