Noah Gragson Scores Top Five NASCAR Xfinity Run Despite Sour Engine

JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson might have been down at one point during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but in the end, he was never really out.

Gragson started seventh and led 36 laps early on including a third-place finish in Stage 1. But shortly that ending of Stage 1, the engine in Gragson’s Chevy began to sour. Those watching on the front stretch could hear a different tune from under the hood and it seemed as though Gragson’s chance at a win was over.

Turns out it wasn’t.

Gragson fell two laps down and it seemed as though it would only be a matter of time before the inevitable cloud of smoke from a blown engine would envelope the Gragson machine and he would be watching the race from atop a pit box.

That, however, didn’t happen.