Gragson Finishes Second in Regular Season Standings After 10th Consecutive Top 10

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Truck Series News
With his ninth-place finish in the UNOH 200 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Noah Gragson finished second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and earned 10 playoff points. Gragson started from the seventh position and put his Safelite AutoGlass Tundra out front for seven laps en route to his 10th consecutive top-10 finish this season.
 
When the Truck Series Playoffs begin next Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, the Las Vegas native will be the third seed behind Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffitt. In addition to the 10 playoff points Gragson earned for finishing second in the regular season standings, he earned 12 additional playoff points throughout the season with seven stage wins and his victory at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. He begins the Truck Series Playoffs 13 points about the cutoff line for advancing from the Round of 8 to the Round of 6.
 
Stage One Recap: 
  • Gragson started the race from the seventh position and had advanced one spot when the first caution of the race occurred on lap 14. When a one-truck spin slowed the field for the second time on lap 27 he had returned to the seventh spot.
  • Battling what he described as an extremely loose Safelite Tundra, the Las Vegas native crossed the stripe to complete Stage One in the ninth position. 
Stage Two Recap: 
  • When pit road opened, Fugle summoned the Safelite Tundra to pit road for four fresh tires, a full tank of fuel and a major trackbar adjustment.
  • Stage Two went green on lap 26 with Gragson scored in the 11th position, but he lost a handful positions when he had to slow to avoid a spin in front of him early in the stage.
  • After falling back to the 16th spot early in the Stage, the 20-year-old driver communicated that that handling of his truck had improved late in the stage and he was able to work his way back up to 14th before the end of Stage Two. 
Final Stage Recap: 
  • With the handling of the Safelite Tundra improved, Fugle called for a two-tire and fuel stop in an effort to gain track position for the Final Stage.
  • Gragson took the restart from the second position, on the outside of row one, and was able to get a good launch down the backstretch and was able to clear Johnny Sauter for the race lead through Turns 3 and 4.
  • The Safelite Tundra would remain out front for seven laps before Sauter retook the lead.
  • Gragson slowly fell back in the running order as the entirety of the Final Stage was run under green-flag conditions. He would cross the stripe in the ninth position earning his 10th consecutive and 12th overall top-10 finish across 15 starts in 2018. 

KBM PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 79