At 19, Las Vegas’ Gragson has time on side
With career in gear, Truck Series driver expected to thrive
During one of the few scenes in theiconicautoracingmoviein which he wasn’t screaming around the French countryside in an equally iconic Porsche 917, “Lemans” driver Steve Mcqueen said this about his favorite pastime:
“Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting.”
After winning his first NASCAR Truck Series race, this is what teenager While NASCAR crowds and seating capacities have dwindled, a second Cup Series weekend still is expected to be a bonanza in nongaming revenue for the city.
Kurt Busch wins Daytona 500
If one is going to lead only one lap of the Great American Race, it should be the last one. Kurt Busch, the senior racing Busch brother of Las Vegas, roared past Kyle Larson and into the history books in February.
It was the first win in 17 Daytona 500 tries for the 39-year-old former series champion, who would become a NASCAR free agent before re-upping with Stewart-haas Racing in December.
Kyle Busch bloodied, narrowly beaten
The NASCAR season was a fight to the finish literally and figuratively for Kyle Busch, Kurt’s younger brother. After tangling with Joey Logano in the Kobalt 400 at LVMS in March, Kyle B. got into a skirmish with Logano and Logano’s crew that ended with blood dripping from Kyle’s forehead. By season’s end, Busch was NASCAR’S hottest driver, and it took a brilliant drive by 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. at Miami-homestead Speedway to deny the Las Vegan a second Cup Series title in three seasons.
Martin Truex Jr. wins LV 400
In retrospect, it’s easy to say a victory in the Kobalt 400 paved the way
Noah Gragson breaks through
In October, Noah Gragson, 19, became a winner in the NASCAR Truck Series. Driving for fellow Las Vegan Kyle Busch, Gragson impersonated Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves by climbing the fence at Martinsville Speedway. Then he got sick and threw up over the retaining wall and referred to the championship trophy, a grandfather clock, as a “granddaddy watch.” He’s young, he’s precocious, he’s not up on all the ways to keep time. He’s also very fast.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ ronkantowski on Twitter.