Entering the third, two-lap overtime, Justin Allgaier led the way with Gragson in fourth and Jeffrey Earnhardt lined up eighth.
As the field came to green, Allgaier ran out of fuel and Gragson powered into the lead. With one lap remaining, Earnhardt had made his way to second began chasing down Gragson for the win.
With no one to push Earnhardt, Gragson nipped him at the checkered flag by 0.131 seconds for his first win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and second of the season.
After doing a celebratory burnout, Gragson and his No. 9 JR Motorsports team dashed to climb the frontstretech climb.
“This (car) was awesome. This JR Motorsports team, they never quit,” Gragson said. “We had four really fast cars. Luke Lambert (crew chief) called a hell of a race. It came down to fuel strategy.
“There was one point where I said, ‘I can’t get up there. We just don’t have the car fast enough.’ But we never quit. That’s the most important thing.
“I’m so grateful for all these race fans out there. We’re at Talladega baby! Listen to them! I’m supposed to race tomorrow in the Cup race but Talladega Boulevard sounds a lot better right now to celebrate.”
For Earnhardt, the runner-up finish – his career-best – was bitter sweet. Earnhardt was making his first start in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 – a number made famous by his grandfather, the late seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.
“I just needed a push there at the end. Everyone got spread apart and it’s really hard to build a run by yourself without someone in the back,” he said.
“Unfortunately, our teammates got wiped out early. But man, I’m living a dream here. I was so thankful for this opportunity.”
A.J. Allmendinger finished third and collected the $100,000 Dash4Cash bonus, Landon Cassill was fourth and Anthony Alfredo rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 were Jeb Burton, Riley Herbst, Joe Graf Jr., Myatt Snider and Brett Moffitt.
Gragson,…
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