Gragson Wins Kansas Rain-Shortened Race

Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

10th Career Win Comes for Gragson After Two Stages at Soggy Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kansas was a perfect 10 for Noah Gragson, taking his 10th career Xfinity Series triumph. A second-straight win for the JR Motorsports 9 car was declared after just two Stages Saturday, as rain ended this race after 93 laps. Tied with Ty Gibbs now at five wins in 2022, Gragson is very well positioned for the Xfinity Playoffs.

From the drop of the green flag, it was evident that Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson were both the class of the field. Gibbs’ 54 took the lead from polesitter Brandon Jones on lap five, and never looked back in Stage 1. With far greater long-run speed though, Gragson’s 9 methodically worked its way up to second by the Stage end.

Stage 2 was initially more of the same, with Gibbs taking off and Gragson right behind him in second. As this Stage wound down though, rain quickly moved into the area. As a result, many thought the race would be to lap 90 rather than lap 200.

Lap 69 would see a caution for Jeremy Clements spinning, which ultimately decided this race’s outcome. Three cars chose to stay out, putting both Gibbs and Gragson back for the restart. On the jump, Gragson went three-wide up the middle to get position over the 54 and take the lead by turn three.

Another caution flew for a brief rain shower with just eight laps left in the Stage. After the rain subsided, racing resumed with two to go. Gragson had the advantage over teammate Justin Allgaier, while Gibbs had to rally. The 9 set sail for the green-and-white checkers, while the 54 body-slammed the 7 of Allgaier for second. This ended up being the final moment of the race, as a large rainstorm moved in just after the caution flew.

For the fifth time this year and the second week in a row, Noah Gragson took the victory. While not allowed to do a burnout in the rain, Gragson did still celebrate the win with his traditional fence climb.

“The 54 was really fast all day,” Gragson said. “The pit crew did a good job all day keeping us in contention. That restart (on lap 76) was the most important part of the race today. Yeah, it’s a rain victory, but we came off pit road third behind the 54 and 19.

“They both took the top, and I chose the bottom, third row. I restarted inside the 19, and I could see the 54 pushing the 07. He was spinning his tires pretty bad.

“I got to the lead on those guys, and that kind of was the game-changer on today’s race. I think we all knew that we were racing to halfway or a little after.”

Behind Gragson, Allgaier, and Gibbs, top finishers were Brandon Jones, Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, and Brett Moffitt.

Clinching Playoff spots on points after Kansas were Riley Herbst and Sam Mayer. Heading into next week’s regular season finale from Bristol, three Xfinity Playoff berths are up for grabs. Coverage of the Food City 300 kicks off Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR