Noah Gragson had been looking forward to racing in his hometown of Las Vegas since the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season began in February. He started off with a solid run in the Switch Tundra, but two pit road speeding penalties relegated him to a 13th-place finish.
Date: September 30, 2017
Event: Las Vegas 350 (Race 18 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 35 laps/35 laps/76 laps
Start/Finish: 13th / 13th (running, completed 144 of 146 laps)
Winner: Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing (Toyota)
Stage One Recap:
- Starting from 13th place, Gragson worked his way up to 10th by lap 27 and finished the 35-lap stage in the same position. His Tundra was a bit tight so he pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment under caution on lap 37 and returned to the track in 12th.
Stage Two Recap:
- Gragson started Stage Two in 12th, but did not stay there long. He moved up to eighth place halfway through this 35-lap stage. The Switch Tundra was still a bit too tight, so when a caution came on lap 57, crew chief Marcus Richmond called Gragson to pit road for fresh tires and another chassis adjustment. He finished Stage Two in seventh place.
Stage Three Recap:
- Since he pitted earlier in Stage Two, Gragson was able to stay out and inherit the lead to begin the final stage. The Switch Tundra paced the field for 12 laps before he was passed by KBM teammate Christopher Bell. While running in second place, Gragson radioed to the team on lap 106 that the truck suddenly became very tight and he thought he had a tire going down. Richmond told him to pit immediately since they were scheduled for a green-flag fuel stop soon anyway. Unfortunately, as Gragson entered pit road he was penalized for entering too fast. He had to return to the pits to serve a drive-through penalty, but as he did he was penalized for speeding again. This time NASCAR issued a stop-and-go penalty. After serving two penalties, Gragson found himself back in 16th place and four laps down. He did not give up and by the time the race ended, Gragson had moved up to 13th and finished the race two laps down.
NOAH GRAGSON, driver of the No. 18 Switch Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
NOAH GRAGSON, driver of the No. 18 Switch Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:Talk about your race?
“We had a fast Switch Tundra tonight, got up front and led some laps. I made a mistake on pit road with the speeding penalties and I feel bad for my team that it happened. I’ll learn from it and move on to Talladega. It was cool to race in front of my family, friends and sponsors. It would have meant the world to me to win here at my home track, but it wasn’t meant to be tonight.”
Las Vegas 350 Recap:
- Ben Rhodes won his first NCWTS race followed by KBM’s Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Kaz Grala rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured six cautions for a total of 32 laps. There were 11 lead changes among seven drivers. Bell lead a race-high 64 laps, while Gragson led 12 laps.
How Gragson’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 2nd
- Myatt Snider, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 28th
NCWTS Driver Championship Standings:
Gragson remains 11th in the Truck Series standings.
Next Race:
After a weekend off, the Truck Series returns to action Saturday, October 14 at Talladega Superspeedway. Live coverage of the race begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
