Noah Gragson came to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., needing to win in order to make the NASCAR playoffs in his rookie season. Although his night did not end with a trip to Victory Lane, he did come away with his 11th top-10 finish of the season as he crossed the finish line in eighth place.
Date: September 15, 2017
Event: TheHouse.com 225 (Race 16 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. (1.5-mile, oval)
Format: Three Segments; 35 laps/35 laps/80 laps
Start/Finish: 6th / 8th (running, completed 150 of 150 laps)
Winner: Johnny Sauter of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage One Recap:
- Gragson started the race in sixth and said the Switch Tundra was a bit free early in the run. He had fallen back to 10th when a caution came on lap 31, just before the end of Stage One. Many teams, including the Switch team elected to pit now and stay out when the stage ended. Four teams stayed out on track, so Gragson was 12th when the race resumed, but was up to 10th when the stage ended at lap 35.
Stage Two Recap:
- By pitting early and staying out when Stage One ended, Gragson started the second 35-lap stage in sixth place. With a good restart he was up to fifth, but as the run went on he fell back to 10th to end Stage Two. He came to pit road for four tires and some major adjustments to see if that would help the handling.
Stage Three Recap:
- Gragson started the final 80-lap stage in 14th on lap 77. He was up to 10th, but still not happy with his Tundra’s handling. When a caution came on lap 107, the team used the opportunity to pit for fresh tires. With a good pit stop, he restarted seventh on lap 111. He eventually settled into eighth, where he finished the race.
NOAH GRAGSON, driver of the No. 18 Switch Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Talk about your race?
“I’m disappointed with how we ran tonight. We made adjustments to the Switch Tundra throughout the entire race and got better, but never quite hit on the right thing to find more speed. I’m looking forward to some of the tracks we have coming up on the schedule. Just because we didn’t make the playoffs doesn’t mean we can’t still win races this season. I think New Hampshire will be a really good track for us next week and then we head back to my home track in Las Vegas. We put in a lot of effort tonight and very soon we’ll see the results.”
TheHouse.com 225 Recap:
- Johnny Sauter won the race followed by Chase Briscoe, KBM’s Christopher Bell, Ryan Truex and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top-five finishers. Bell captured the regular-season championship.
- The race featured six cautions for a total of 28 laps. There were 12 lead changes among six drivers.
How Gragson’s KBM Teammates Fared:
Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 3rd
Myatt Snider, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 10th
NCWTS Driver Championship Standings:
Gragson is 11th in the Truck Series standings.
Next Race:
The Truck Series returns to action next weekend on Saturday, September 23 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Live coverage of the race begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
