NASCAR: Gragson nabs 2nd win in as many weeks after shortened race at Kansas Speedway
Around noon Saturday, it was apparent that the Xfinity Series drivers in the Kansas Lottery 300 were racing the incoming rain as much as each other.
Race time got pushed up by about 20 minutes. The end of the race became an afterthought, and everyone focused on the end of stage two — which is when the rain was expected and the race would be considered official.
After some rain-related drama and a two-lap shootout to end the stage — and the race — under a green flag, Noah Gragson emerged victorious.
It was Gragson’s second consecutive victory, following a dramatic triumph last week at Darlington. It was his fifth win of the season, tying him with Ty Gibbs for the most on the Xfinity Series this year. It was also his 10th career Xfinity Series win, and his first top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway.
“We did our job. I know rain-shortened races get kind of overlooked, but we weren’t in contention and we put ourselves in contention when the time was right. I think that’s the most important thing,” Gragson said. “We were able to pull it out.”
With the race official and the radar ominous, it was assumed the race was official. Television cameras even showed Gragson being led to an indoor victory lane. He was soon ushered out when NASCAR announced the race wasn’t official.
A few minutes later, NASCAR finally gave the results a thumbs-up.
“I knew once we came down pit road, I was 99 percent sure it was going to be official, especially when we dropped the window net. It was just a matter of time,” Gragson said. “I came in early today for Cup practice and before the Xfinity garage opened, they had the radar up and were already looking at it.
“I knew from the start of the green flag today there was a high chance we were only going to get to halfway, or just 15 or 20 laps into the third stage. I think everybody kind of had that mentality, that’s why we all pitted 15 or 20 laps into that second stage, because we knew the rain was looming.”
The rain first arrived with eight laps remaining in stage two. After running six laps under caution, it was decided conditions were safe enough to resume with a two-lap shootout so the race could finish under green, in case further racing wasn’t possible.
“Honestly I really didn’t want to go back to green for those last two laps of the stage,” Gragson said. “We did it and it ended up working out.”
Gragson had enough to pull ahead of the fray. There was plenty of bumping and jostling behind him, but no major incidents.
The drama came in the race for second place. Gibbs and Justin Allgaier slapped doors as they headed out of turn four and to the finish line. Allgaier got the position, with Gibbs, who started the day in the points lead, finishing third. Gibbs apologized for the incident.
“I heard what (Gibbs) said in his (televised) interview. Obviously the tough part about that is, I know we’re coming to the end of the stage and all those things, but if we were to go back green, I think it extremely limited his day, and was probably going to limit our day as well,” Allgaier said. “Probably not the right room to make, but I tried to leave enough room where he was going to have a lane without making contact.”
The Xfinity Series regular season concludes next week in Bristol. Riley Herbst and Sam Mayer both clinched their spots in the 12-driver playoff, leaving three openings up for grabs next week.
ARCA POSTPONED A DAY: The ARCA Kansas Lottery 150, which had been scheduled for Saturday night following the Xfinity race, was postponed until Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 5:08 PM.