Gragson Takes Third-Straight Xfinity Win at Bristol

Photo by Peter Stratta/TSJSports

NASCAR

Gragson Scores Hat-Trick in Bristol, Xfinity Playoff Field Set

BRISTOL, Tenn. – For the sixth time this season, Noah Gragson is an Xfinity Series winner. What separates this Bristol win though is the fact that it marks three consecutive wins for the JR Motorsports 9 team. No driver in JRM history has ever accomplished this feat, as Gragson enters the postseason with all possible momentum and confidence.

The final two Playoff berths were also decided in Bristol’s regular season finale. Defending champion Daniel Hemric and underdog Ryan Sieg were the last two to make the 12-man cut.

Stage 1 saw many cautions but surprisingly no lead changes. From the pole Ty Gibbs led every lap, taking his sixth Stage win of 2022. However, the day would very quickly go from 100 to 0 for the 54 team.

Midway through Stage 2, Noah Gragson made slight contact with Gibbs. This sent the 54 up the track into Playoff bubble driver Sheldon Creed. While Creed was tentatively running in a spot to make the postseason, that was erased in a flash. Both Gibbs and Creed were done after this heavy wall impact.

Just past lap 100, a hopeful Playoff contender’s day took a major blow. After a flat tire and a hub fire, Landon Cassill went behind the wall. While the 10 did eventually return to the race, 35th-place was not enough points for the Kaulig team to make the 2022 postseason.

With Gibbs done for the night, Justin Allgaier was seemingly on cruise control for the rest of Stage 2, taking that win. The 7 appeared to be the best car left in the race, until Allgaier’s race came to a sudden end with a late pit road speeding penalty.

Allgaier’s misfortunes handed the lead to Noah Gragson, who opted to stay out on far older tires than anyone else. Despite the tire disadvantage, Gragson took off on the restart and never looked back. Even with Brandon Jones getting oh-so-close to the 9’s bumper, nobody kept Gragson from three wins in a row.

“Man three in a row,” a tired Gragson said in disbelief post-race. “I knew when that last caution came out, if we could bring the top then it would be hard for them to get there. I appreciate Brandon Jones for racing us clean, he gave us a bumper with two to go and I was hanging on, scrubbing the fence.”

“Holy s–t,” Gragson went on. “We won here in 2020, when there was no fans here. This is 10 times cooler! I appreciate you Bristol! Thank you all you fans for coming out! You guys are awesome! Thank you also to Josh Wise, everyone from JR Motorsports, and the Hendrick engine shop. Man I’m just so thankful, what a great opportunity to race here in front of fans and win. Our car was fast all day, and once we got to the top we were rolling. I had a blast.”

Behind Gragson and Jones at the finish were Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Stefan Parsons, Justin Allgaier, and Ryan Sieg.

Allmendinger was crowned regular season champion for the second-straight year. However, he is not the top seed entering the 2022 Playoffs, as that honor goes to Gragson. Six wins now for the 9 team is a series-best record, as it appears Gragson is heads-and-tails the current title favorite.

The 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs begin next week at Texas Motor Speedway. Texas, Talladega, and the Charlotte Roval are the opening round over the next three weeks. The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Could Noah Gragson possibly earn an unprecedented fourth-straight victory?

Written by Noah Lewis

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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports