Noah Gragson Wins Third K&N NASCAR Pro Series Race In a Row at New Jersey Motorsports Park
- 30 Sept 2016
Noah Gragson is on a roll in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. He won his third K&N Pro Series race in a row by taking the JustDrive.com 125 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. He won both NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races at the Utah Motorsports Complex doubleheader. His win in the K&N Pro Series East race at New Jersey Motorsports Park made it three in row and the fifth of his K&N Pro Series career. He also won the K&N Pro Series East race at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut in June.
“Being able to race there, get two wins is a lot of confidence for me,” Gragson said about winning the races in Utah. “I was able to know what the tires were going to do there at the end. I run around there until the halfway break, like a lot of people did. After the halfway break, we went really, really hard, trying to pass as many cars as possible.” It is also the NASCAR Next driver’s third win in a row on road courses. He started on the second row and took the lead on lap 48 of the 55-lap race. He crossed the finish line 2.030 seconds ahead of Dominique Van Wieringen. Justin Haley won the pole and led the first lap before Van Wieringen took the lead. She was out front for four laps before giving way to Spencer Davis.
“We had to ride around a lot, conserve our tires. This track surface is really rough,” Haley said. “The tires just get ate up. The first half there, we were just kind of riding, played it well. The second half didn’t have any cautions, there were no cautions through the whole race. That hurt us a little bit.” John Holleman passed Davis for the lead on lap 9. Van Wieringen, who started the race on the fifth row, regained the lead on lap 30 and held it for 18 laps. “A few cars went out there and led some laps and were going really hard,” Gragson said. “I was thinking big-picture racing. Last week there in Utah, I did it two times. We had races similar like this, same formatting, with only one set of tires. Really long races, I think that’s where the experience came through.”
On lap 47, Gragson took his first lead in the race, passing Van Wieringen for the last eight laps. Haley crossed the finish line in second, followed by Kyle Benjamin in third. Colin Cabre was fourth. Van Wieringen dropped to fifth when the checkered flag flew. “I ran her down and caught her in one part of the race track,” Gragson said. “I pulled a really good crossover move on her to take the lead and put on a real nice show for the fans. Led about seven laps there at the end.” Benjamin said he has little experience on road courses and will be more prepared the next time the KN Pro Series visits a road course.
“We had a pretty decent night,” Benjamin said. “I don’t have a lot of real road course experience. I’ve been learning as I’ve went. We made a lot of gains in practice. I’m definitely leaving here a better road racer than when I came. I should be better next time.” In 12 K&N Pro Series East races, Gragson has won twice, has four top-five and six top-10 finishes. He is fourth in the K&N Pro Series East standings despite missing one race. “NASCAR, K&N, without them, we wouldn’t be racing here at New Jersey Motorsports Park,” Gragson said. “This is huge, not for me, but for my team. Every single one of us. They work their tails off in the shop every week.” Haley leads the K&N Pro Series East standings by 29 points over Benjamin. The K&N Pro Series East season finale is at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 30. |
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