Looking to put on a show for the fans at Phoenix Raceway, Noah Gragson did just that.
After a seventh-place qualifying effort, the No.10 Stewart-Haas driver looked forward to continuing the success he started this season with another top ten finish in the Shriners Children’s 500.
“We were really happy with the long run and how the car faded throughout a tire cycle run, it felt really good”, said Gragson about his practice prior to the race.
Stage 1 was consistent for the No.10 SERVPRO Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver even with fighting a tight car. Telling his team that he was too tight to stay on the bottom of the track in the first 30 laps of the run, Gragson asked to have an adjustment that would let him roll through the center of the turn.
Finishing Stage 1 in the 13th position, Gragson would come to pit road for a new set of Goodyear tires, fuel and an adjustment to help the handling of the car.
Returning to the track, Gragson would begin Stage 2 in 9th place. His crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, would remind him to take care of his equipment. Especially that right rear tire.
With the coaching from his crew chief and with the excellent ability Gragson had to communicate with his team, the 25-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada driver finished the stage in the eighth place.
Once again, the team would bring Gragson to pit road for tires and an adjustment after their driver told them that the car started off decent but it got too greasy on the bottom so he would move higher in turns one and two.
With another set of tires, fuel and a little adjustment as well as a tear off and an ice pack to cool him down, Gragson asked the team “What lap do we unleash the tiger?” The team would reply “Not yet, kinda scared to see it too early.”
Stage 3 would begin with a series of cautions, but Gragson skillfully would stay out of the way of those involved and would be in the 10th position with 12 laps to go.
Finishing the race in 12th place, his third top 12 finish in the first four races of the season, Gragson would express his frustration with the lap traffic that just would not move out of the way.
Even with his finish, Gragson would praise his team “Our SERVPRO guys did a great job. We had really fast pit stops. It is easy to Monday Morning Quarterback it but I have a lot of faith in Drew and the rest of these guys.’
Looking forward to the rest of the season, Gragson is very optimistic. “Looking back, we probably should have taken two tires because those guys finished up there but will keep going and keep learning.
“Every race. Every weekend. It is still early. It is the fourth race. We ran inside the top 10 for most of the day and it is kind of a bummer but it is exciting to be good and to be disappointed with a 12th-place finish.
“That is exciting for our team. We want to keep it going.”
Next up for Noah Gragson is the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday March 17th, 2024 at 3:30 PM E.T
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @grace3140 or email at [email protected]
