CONCORD, N.C.: JR Motorsports (JRM) driver Noah Gragson captured an impressive top-five finish in Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL as he eyes to advance to the next round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs next weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
The outcome of the weekend should be considered a victory for Gragson and the No. 9 JR Motorsports team after overcoming a practice crash on Friday afternoon.
Starting at the rear of the field, Gragson in his No. 9 Suave Men Chevrolet showcased his road course craft and methodically marched his way through the field and when chaos erupted in the closing laps, Gragson survived and earned his eighth top-five of the season and stretched a recent streak of top-10 finishes to six.
“I’m very thankful to be driving for this team and these guys on this Suave Chevrolet,” said Gragson. “I put them in a bind to start the weekend with our crash in practice but these guys worked tirelessly on this backup and it feels great to be able to reward that with a top-five finish.”
Overall, it was Gragson’s 19th top-10 effort in 28 starts in his first full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series season. He finished a season-high second earlier this season at Michigan International Speedway.
With one race remaining in the Round of 12 in the Xfinity Series standings, the Las Vegas, Nev. native sits seventh in the championship standings with a 26-point cushion. Stage finishes of ninth and fifth allowed the 20-year-old to pad his margin over John Hunter Nemechek, the first driver outside the Playoff cut line.
“We did what we needed to do today and got as many points as we could so that we can keep building on that cushion in the points heading into Dover next week,” Gragson added. “Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going and have a smooth weekend next week and move on to the next round of playoffs.”
Looking for his first win of the season, the Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year contender returns to the Monster Mile looking to better his 19th-place run in May. He has one top-10 in two starts overall at the Del. short track. He finished seventh last spring driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 at Dover begins next Sat., Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Follow Zach Grafe on Twitter @z_grafe83.
CATCHFENCE.com editor Chris Knight contributed to this report.
