Gragson aided by crash
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Noah Gragson won his first career Xfinity Series race when Saturday’s opener was stopped on the final lap by a crash well behind the winning JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
It was the third consecutive win at Daytona for a car fielded by Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister and Rick Hendrick in what they consider a family business.
“It never gets old, man,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I don’t expect I will do it ever again as a driver, but if I get here as an owner and have success like this, it’s a great feeling.”
Gragson and Chase Briscoe swapped the lead in the closing three-lap sprint to the finish, but NASCAR threw the yellow-flag for a multi-car crash on the final lap.
Harrison Burton and Timmy Hill, who will make his Daytona 500 debut Sunday, were second and third in Toyotas. Briscoe was fourth in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Gragson celebrated old-school style, first by climbing the fence at Daytona International Speedway – a nod to both three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and recent NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart. Then Gragson fueled the flames on the Daytona track surface created by his celebratory burnout.
He ran up and down the frontstretch pumping his fists in celebration, then slid across the hood of his JRM entry for the drive to victory lane.
“It’s Daytona, you never know if you get this chance again, so do what you want to do,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
Gragson is the seventh different race winner for JRM.
Majeski’s truck flips in race: NASCAR opened the Truck Series season with one fiery crash, a truck stuck on its roof and Grant Enfinger in victory lane following overtime and a door-to-door race to the finish line.
Enfinger beat Jordan Anderson in a frantic push to the finish that drew sparks as the trucks banged in Friday night’s closing lap at Daytona International Speedway.
The race had been delayed by rain, stopped when a crash caused Seymour’s Ty Majeski to flip onto his roof, and then oddly delayed in a crash that saw a fiery truck stopped on the apron when it was rear-ended from behind in a case of faulty equipment.
Enfinger cycled into a lead after late accidents and was out front when the race went to a two-lap overtime shootout. He first used a block on Ross Chastain to preserve the win, then had to beat Anderson to the finish line.
Majeski, 25, was flipped upside down in the closing laps of the first stage when he was plowed into on the side as the trucks at the front of the pack jockeyed for position.
His Chevrolet was stuck on its roof for several minutes as the race was redflagged and workers attempted to flip the Silverado. Majeski was trapped, hanging by his seat belts, as the rookie waited to be freed from the vehicle.
“Nothing like I’ve ever experienced before,” he said. “I am not hurt, thankfully. Just my pride. We’ll live to race another day.”