NASCAR
Noah Gragson Grabs the Checkered Flag in Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. – After a close loss last week, Noah Gragson rebounds at Phoenix Raceway. The Bass Pro No. 9 for JR Motorsports was the class of the field, leading 114 of 200 laps. Gragson is now locked into the Xfinity Series Playoffs once again, ready to contend for the championship. Gragson has been the most consistent so far this year in the Xfinity Series, with four top-three finishes through four races.
Trevor Bayne was a pleasant surprise in qualifying, taking the pole in his second start with Joe Gibbs Racing. After having to switch out steering wheels before the green flag, the 18 was dominant in Stage 1. With the green-and-white checkers out, Bayne just narrowly edged out Gragson for the Stage win.
The No. 18 nipping someone at the line at @phoenixraceway? Seen that before.@Tbayne6 wins stage one and ties his good friend @BlakeKochRacing on the all-time #XfinitySeries stage wins list. pic.twitter.com/iwJdlXkuBv
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) March 12, 2022
From Stage 2 onward, the 9 car was out front for a majority of the laps. The last cycle of green flag pit stops would see Brandon Jones leapfrog Gragson. With just 14 laps left though, Gragson made the winning pass over the 19 with fresher tires. Gragson would hold on to take the victory, becoming the fourth different Xfinity winner in four races in 2022.
“It feels great to get the 50th Anniversary Bass Pro Shops Camaro to victory lane,” Gragson said. “But most importantly, thank you to all you badass race fans for coming out, you guys are awesome! We love you, thanks for coming to Phoenix!
“This team, my pit crew, everybody who makes this possible, Johnny Morris, JP, Z-Man, love you buddy. Caught the track on fire, which is awesome, but the pit crew executed great! This team’s been on a roll this year, with all top-three finishes in the first four races. Just can’t thank everyone enough for all their hard work, let’s try and keep it going.”
Gragson has made impressive runs throughout the Playoffs each of the last two seasons. With the Phoenix win now, Gragson hopes to back up this performance with the championship on the line in November.
Top 10 finishers behind Gragson were Jones, Josh Berry, Trevor Bayne, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Justin Allgaier.
The Xfinity Series will return to action next Saturday from Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Nalley Cars 250 will go green at 5:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Who will end on top on the newly-resurfaced Atlanta track?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to JR Motorsports via Twitter
