RICHMOND, Va. – Noah Gragson is quickly becoming a placement on the NASCAR scene.
Whether it’s his unpredictable demeanor that is sure to leave you laughing – or his on-track performance which continues to elevate with experience and guidance, Gragson is bursting into the headlines.
Friday night though, the Las Vegas, Nev. native will meet his biggest challenge yet as he’ll make his Xfinity Series debut for Joe Gibbs Racing in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway.
Stepping up from the Truck Series to the Xfinity Series is no catwalk.
The competition is different, the feel is distinct, and the pressure is overwhelming.
Gragson, however, didn’t let any of those obstacles hold him back in practice Friday morning at the historic Virginian short track.
Quickly getting his No. 18 Switch Toyota up to speed, the 19-year-old produced the third fastest time. Proving that his fast lap in the opening session wasn’t a combination of cool temperatures or new tires, Gragson cracked the top-three in the second and final practice nearly an hour later – capturing the attention that the NASCAR Next could easily be a sleeper in his series debut.
“I think I was surprised a little bit,” said Gragson of his practice results. “I thought it would have taken a lot longer. I thought it was going to take the first practice, but it only took about four to five laps. “We were pretty fast, we have a really fast No. 18 Switch Toyota Camry.”
Gragson has just one start at Richmond three years ago in the NASCAR K&N Series, where he produced a top-10 finish after starting 32nd. Still, even with the top-10 result – Gragson says Richmond isn’t easy.
“It’s a tough track,” added Gragson. “It’s a new series. A lot of changes. “It’s good to be with a good team like Joe Gibbs Racing and Eric Phillips (crew chief) has done a good job bringing me a good car.”
When it comes to the checkered flag tonight at Richmond, Gragson has obtainable goals – but he isn’t counting out an opportunity to put himself in the winner’s circle either.
Still, he realizes a lot will transpire over 250 laps under the Richmond lights.
“I definitely think so,” Gragson said of being a contender. “I have a lot of confidence in myself. I just have to stay disciplined throughout the entire races. That’s the biggest thing for me. I can’t drive over my head.
“if I can stay disciplined, we should be in good shape.”
Showcasing the speed of his No. 18 Toyota early in the day and with qualifying set for midafternoon, Gragson doesn’t believe weather will be too much of a fixture when it comes to changing track conditions.
“It’s so cold, I don’t think the weather will be a factor,” he added. “If it was 90 degrees, that would be a different story. The track didn’t get to greasy. It might tighten up a little, but we’re prepared for that.”
For Gragson’s Truck Series owner Kyle Busch – he hopes Richmond, the first of a consecutive three-race stint (Richmond, Talladega and Dover) for his protégé will help him learn new tactics and open the door from a confidence standpoint to hopefully enhance the performance on the truck side – when the series resumes action on May 4 at Dover International Speedway.
“I think he’s ready for the opportunity and kind of getting him out of our (Kyle Busch Motorsports) hands a little bit and see what he does in other stuff,” Busch said last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“It’s a good opportunity at this point. I don’t want to say that he’s gotten a little stale, but it just seems like we’re stuck in that third, fourth, fifth, sixth range with Noah in trucks so maybe getting him a little confidence boost and doing something a little different with a different feel and different people will give him a fresh idea of what to bring back to help us with.
“I think it’s a good chance for him to shake it up a little bit and looking forward to seeing what he can do in the Xfinity cars for JGR and help better himself for us chasing a championship.”
Before Gragson returns to his No. 18 Safelite Toyota truck seat in two weeks, Friday night, he’ll have the opportunity to cross the next item off his bucket list with an Xfinity debut at one of America’s premier short tracks.
It’s a moment that left the spontaneous driver speechless.
“I can’t thank Rob Roy and the entire Switch team enough for making all of this possible,” sounded Gragson. “Earlier today, I was standing on pit road prior to practice and I couldn’t believe it. To drive one of these things (Xfinity) cars is pretty damn special.
“I just want to capitalize on it.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
