Date: July 6, 2017
Event: Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 (Race 10 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta (1.5-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 35 laps/35 laps/80 laps
Start/Finish: 11th / 5th (running, completed 150 of 150 laps)
Winner: Christopher Bell of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
Noah Gragson started 11th based on owner points when qualifying was canceled due to rain. He moved up to win stage two, spun in stage three and recovered to finish fifth for his second top five of the season.
Stage One Recap:
- Gragson started 11th and told his KBM crew the Switch Tundra was too free running behind other trucks. He came to pit road for four tires and a wedge adjustment during a caution before the stage ended, which allowed him to stay out and gain track position at the end of the stage. He finished stage one in ninth, but restarted the next stage in second place.
Stage Two Recap:
- Gragson started second and assumed the lead on the restart. Despite his owner and teammate, Kyle Busch closing in on him in the final laps, he led the entire stage and earned his first stage victory this season. He came to pit road for four tires and was seventh to restart the final stage.
Stage Three Recap:
- The final stage was an interesting one for Gragson. During the restart on lap 77, he got loose down on the apron of the track after hitting a bump which spun the Switch Tundra. Luckily, he only had minor damage to the right-front fender and was able to restart 18th after a pit stop for tires. He had worked his way up to 11th, but a great restart on lap 119 helped him gain three more positions moving him up to eighth. With 10 to go he was seventh, but kept fighting for every position he could get and in the closing laps made it up to fifth to finish the race.
NOAH GRAGSON, driver of the No. 18 Switch Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Talk about your race?
“We led some laps during the second stage and were in a really good position running seventh to start the third stage. I just made a rookie mistake down there running the apron. Not running this track before, I didn’t know there was a big bump there and I had a little bit of wheel into it down there in the front stretch and spun out. It was just a mistake by me and it cost us the race. I really think this Switch Tundra was capable of sitting in Victory Lane tonight. I’m pumped about coming back to finish in the top five. I made a mistake, but I’m going to learn from it and move forward.”
Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 Recap:
- KBM’s Christopher Bell won the race followed by Brandon Jones, Justin Haley, Austin Cindric and Gragson rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured eight cautions for a total of 42 laps. There were 10 lead changes among eight drivers. KBM’s Christopher Bell led 54 laps, the most of any driver and Gragson led 32.
How Gragson’s KBM Teammates Fared:
Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 1st
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 46 Toyota, finished 6th
Myatt Snider, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 16th
NCWTS Driver Championship Standings:
Gragson remains ninth in the Truck Series Championship Standings, but is now only seven points out of eighth, the final playoff position.
Next Race:
After a weekend off, the Truck Series returns to action on the dirt Wednesday, July 19 at Eldora Speedway. Live coverage of the Eldora Dirt Derby begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at 9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
