In Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Gragson Finally Gets a Victory at his Favorite Track – and Secures Spot in NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Championship 4
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Oct. 22, 2022) – Noah Gragson has led plenty of laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway with three Top-10 finishes in his four starts before this weekend. And Saturday night – at long last – Gragson earned the Xfinity Series winner’s trophy to go with all his statistical success at the South Florida track.
The 23-year-old Las Vegas native led a dominating 127 of the 200 laps – at one point his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevy was out front by more than 9-seconds. Ultimately it took a strong restart with five laps remaining for Gragson to ensure the victory – .550-seconds over fellow NASCAR Xfinity Series championship challenger Ty Gibbs.
The win is Gragson’s automatic ticket to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in two weeks – a fitting placement for the young driver who leads the series with eight wins, more than doubling his previous career high single-season win tally.
“I wanted this one so bad,’’ Gragson said, raising his hand in celebration with the cheering crowd. “The last three years. … Words can’t describe how thankful I am for everybody at JR Motorsports.”
The Xfinity Series race wrapped up a huge NASCAR doubleheader Saturday with the dominating Gragson victory. He won both stages giving him 16 stage wins on the season – more than twice as many as any other driver.
Gragson now joins his JR Motorsports teammate Josh Berry – last week’s winner – with the automatic Championship 4 berth with two positions still to be decided.
Gibbs’ runner-up finish places him third in the championship standings. He’s a healthy 30 points ahead of fourth place, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger with next week’s Martinsville (Va.) Speedway race settling which four drivers will be racing for the title at Phoenix on Nov. 4.
“We were just battling our race car all day, we made great adjustments and my guys never gave up,’’ said the 20-year old Gibbs who was making his Homestead-Miami Speedway debut.
“We’ll move on to Martinsville. I feel like that’s a place we were really fast at earlier this year and probably had a shot to win it so I’m excited to back there.
JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier, who had an eventful day, finished 10th coming back from being a lap down. He now trails Allmendinger by only five points for that final Playoff berth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill sits seven points below the cutoff line with a ninth-place Homestead finish.
JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer, who finished fifth Saturday is now 28 points behind Allmendinger and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones is 28 points back after finishing 15th.
Gibbs and Allmendinger were among the seven race leaders on the day. But if not for that late race caution, it looked like a sure Gragson runaway.
Allmendinger finished third with his Kaulig Racing teammate Daniel Hemric fourth. Mayer was fifth. Trevor Bayne finished sixth – his 47 laps led in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota second only to Gragson’s high mark.
Chandler Smith, who hours earlier at Homestead earned a Championship 4 position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, finished seventh. Riley Herbst, Hill and Allgaier rounded out the Top-10.
The Xfinity Series will set its four-driver Championship grid next Saturday in the Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Gragson is the defending winner of this Playoff race. Jones won at Martinsville this Spring.
Editor’s Note: Click here for Noah Gragson post-race media center interview. Click here to download the new Homestead-Miami Speedway logo, as well as race entitlement logos. Click here for photos from 2021 NASCAR weekend at HMS, plus B-Roll of action on the 1.5-mile venue. For NASCAR Next Gen on-track photos, click here.
Great tickets remain for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 NASCAR Cup Series race, the second event in the premier series playoffs Round of 8, and can be purchased by visiting www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com or calling (866) 409-RACE (7223).
Fans can also receive updates about upcoming events and races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the NASCAR Tracks App for the latest speedway news.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 28th Annual Contender Boats 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Saturday, October 22, 2022
1. (2) Noah Gragson (P), Chevrolet, 200.
2. (3) Ty Gibbs (P), Toyota, 200.
3. (13) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 200.
4. (4) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (6) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 200.
6. (1) Trevor Bayne (P), Toyota, 200.
7. (9) Chandler Smith(i), Toyota, 200.
8. (15) Riley Herbst, Ford, 200.
9. (10) Austin Hill # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
10. (20) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 200.
11. (12) Josh Berry (P), Chevrolet, 200.
12. (16) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (23) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 200.
14. (24) Brennan Poole(i), Chevrolet, 200.
15. (5) Brandon Jones (P), Toyota, 199.
16. (29) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 199.
17. (7) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 199.
18. (35) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 199.
19. (21) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 199.
20. (8) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 198.
21. (31) David Starr, Ford, 198.
22. (19) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 198.
23. (30) Patrick Emerling, Toyota, 198.
24. (17) Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 198.
25. (11) Nicholas Sanchez, Chevrolet, 198.
26. (26) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197.
27. (34) Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, 196.
28. (37) Julia Landauer, Chevrolet, 196.
29. (22) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 195.
30. (32) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 195.
31. (38) CJ McLaughlin, Ford, 195.
32. (36) Matt Mills(i), Chevrolet, 195.
33. (25) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 190.
34. (18) Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 189.
35. (33) Kyle Sieg #, Ford, Accident, 183.
36. (27) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Electrical, 115.
37. (28) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, Engine, 62.
38. (14) JJ Yeley, Ford, Accident, 3.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 124.884 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 24 Mins, 8 Secs. Margin of Victory: .550 Seconds.\
Caution Flags: 4 for 24 laps.
Lead Changes: 13 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Bayne (P) 1-22;N. Gragson (P) 23-47;L. Cassill 48-50;N. Gragson (P) 51;T. Gibbs (P) 52;N. Gragson (P) 53-54;A. Hill # (P) 55-70;N. Gragson (P) 71-97;A. Hill # (P) 98-100;T. Bayne (P) 101-124;N. Gragson (P) 125-140;A. Allmendinger (P) 141;J. Berry (P) 142-144;N. Gragson (P) 145-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Noah Gragson (P) 6 times for 127 laps; Trevor Bayne (P) 2 times for 46 laps; Austin Hill # (P) 2 times for 19 laps; Landon Cassill 1 time for 3 laps; Josh Berry (P) 1 time for 3 laps; AJ Allmendinger (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Ty Gibbs (P) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 9,10,54,18,16,21,11,1,34,7
Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,16,21,18,1,54,10,11,26,45
About Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway has been open since 1995 following an initiative to spur economic recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The Speedway, which was founded by Miami businessman, racing enthusiast and philanthropist Ralph Sanchez, is a 650-acre facility that features a 1.5-mile oval and 2.21-mile road course. The Speedway hosts on-track events nearly 300 days per year and generates more than $301 million annually for the region. NASCAR crowned champions in all three of its national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway for 18 straight years (2002-19). In 2022, the Dixie Vodka 400 moves to the third race in the Round of 8 on Sunday, Oct. 23, as part of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. In August of 2022, Homestead-Miami Speedway unveiled a new, colorfully designed logo that showcases the venue’s sense of place and incredible competition while incorporating all what South Florida has to offer from the vibrancy of South Beach to the tranquility of the Keys. Using a combination of pink, blue, yellow, light and dark turquoise – colors specific to the culture of South Florida – the new Homestead-Miami Speedway highlights regional and cultural flair of color, speed and intense, off-the chart racing that is unique to Miami.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
