Noah Gragson hoping to add chapter to storybook season

After helping paint the start-finish line pink at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, Noah Gragson promises not to obscure his handiwork with a victory burnout should he win Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 302 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff race.

But he says there are other sections of asphalt on his home track that could probably use a celebratory coat of burning rubber and tire smoke.

“Hopefully we can get a win this weekend and do a burnout and honor those with breast cancer here in Las Vegas,” said the full-time driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and, more recently, the part-time pilot of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series ride as a fill-in for the injured Alex Bowman.

“Getting a win in front of my hometown crowd, my last Xfinity race in Vegas, that would be storybook for me.”

He came close in the spring race at LVMS, finishing second behind Ty Gibbs before winning in Phoenix the next week and adding victories at Talladega and Pocono.

Then came consecutive wins at Darlington, Kansas, Bristol and Texas, tying an Xfinity Series record. It was an amazing run that give him seven victories for the season and made him the man to beat for the championship.

“I think it was a great opportunity to be able to do that and get a record-tying stat. That’s pretty cool and whatnot,” said Gragson, who finished 10th and third in the two races since the streak and continues to pace the Xfinity standings.

“For me and our team, we just want to keep winning races,” he said of his approach heading into the first of three races that will determine the four drivers who will race for the championship in Phoenix next month. “And I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”

It appeared Gragson, who will move up to the Cup Series full time in 2022 to partner with Erik Jones at Petty GMS, the team owned by Las Vegas businessman Maury Gallagher, might be joined by a second local driver in the Round of 8 before Riley Herbst’s title bid ended last week at Charlotte.

Herbst finished second and fifth in the first two stages on the hybrid road course-oval before literally being bounced from the playoffs by multiple crashes.

Defending Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemrick was also among those eliminated, leaving Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer to battle for the final four sports heading into Phoenix.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.