Gragson Finishes 31st at Daytona
Las Vegas Native’s NASCAR Cup Series Debut Gets Derailed by Multicar Accident
Event: 64th Running of the Daytona 500 (Round 1 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (65 laps/65 laps/70 laps)
Start/Finish: 39th/31st (Accident, completed 190 of 201 laps)
Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-65):
- Noah Gragson rolled of the grid in 39th for his first career NASCAR Cup Series start. He finished the first stage in 12th.
- Using the draft to his advantage, Gragson wheeled the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet Camaro up to 23rd by lap 24.
- On lap 38, Gragson made a scheduled, green flag pit stop for right-side tires and fuel. He returned to the track in 22nd.
- While under caution on lap 42, Gragson reported that his car was handling well. The team pitted again to top off with fuel.
- Gragson avoided an eight-car accident on lap 64 and drove all the way up to 12th, maintaining the position through the end of the stage.
- Upon the conclusion of the stage, Gragson pitted for four tires and fuel. He made a second pit stop to fill the car’s fuel cell before the race went back to green
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 66-130):
- Gragson started 21st and finished 19th.
- Gragson raced his way up to 15th by lap 82.
- Gragson was 14th before making a scheduled, green flag pit stop for tires and fuel on lap 106.
- After the pit stop, Gragson fell back to 22nd, but he worked his way up to 19th by the end of the stage.
- During the break, the team pitted for right-side tires and fuel.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 131-200):
- Gragson started 14th and finished 31st.
- Gragson drafted his way into the top-10 to where he was running eighth by lap 142.
- During a caution on lap 152, Gragson said he was happy with the balance of his No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet Camaro. Crew chief Darren Shaw made a strategy call and pitted Gragson twice to fill the car up with as much fuel as possible. Gragson restarted 14th.
- On lap 191 while Gragson was running in the top-10, another car lost control and slid into his Chevrolet Camaro as the two raced through the frontstretch. Gragson was turned into the wall and his car suffered heavy front-end damage and was unable to continue. Gragson was unhurt.
Notes:
- Austin Cindric won the 64th Daytona 500 to score his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in just his eighth career start. His margin over second-place Bubba Wallace was .036 of a second.
- There were seven caution periods for a total of 37 laps.
- Fifteen of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
- Cindric leaves Daytona tied with Brad Keselowski for the championship lead. Both have 54 points with a five-point advantage over their nearest pursuer, Martin Truex Jr.
Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet Camaro:
“I felt like we had a strong run going and we had been doing a great job all day. We ran really hard there and we were competitive, so we were happy about running eighth there. I felt like we were going to be in good position there to at least go for a top-five. Our car was great all day. Thanks to everyone at Beard Motorsports and to all of the fans out here.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Wise Power 400 on Sunday, Feb. 27 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Gragson and Beard Motorsports’ next race is the Geico 500 April 24 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. That race starts at 3 p.m. ET with live coverage on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.