Noah Gragson scored his seventh win of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season and his fourth in a row in dominating fashion at Texas Motor Speedway, as he led a race-high 85 laps in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300. When it was all said and done, only seven other cars finished on the lead lap with Gragson.
Gragson looked impressive in the early laps, as he led 10 early and drove from 13th to fourth on new tires in a four-lap shootout to end stage one. Gragson was forced to pit under the stage caution for loose lug nuts, and he dropped down to 18th. That was no issue either, as Gragson drove from 18th to third in the 27 green flag laps to start stage two.
After further pit strategy, Gragson finished second in stage two and took the lead for the final stage by staying out.
Despite Gragson climbing through the field multiple times, winning was no guarantee. John Hunter Nemechek was the dominant car early as he led 60 of the first 81 laps. Daniel Hemric was having one of his best performances of the year, as he won a stage, led 12 laps and shadowed Gragson during his march through the field. Gragson’s JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier also looked like a top-five car throughout the afternoon, and polesitter Brandon Jones had worked his way back into the top 10 after nearly spinning out in the first corner of the first lap.
The field lined up for another restart on lap 117 with Gragson in the lead and all of his closest challengers right behind him. But it was this restart that proved to be the turning point of the race, as Nemechek, Allgaier, Hemric and Jones were all collected in a nine-car crash on the backstretch.
With track position king at Texas, Austin Hill quickly took Gragson and Nemechek three-wide into turn 1 on the restart. Nemechek drifted up the track into turn 2, and that allowed Allgaier to peek a nose and make it four-wide. But four-wide proved to be too much, as Nemechek lost control in the marbles and sparked a huge melee.
Trouble exiting the corner!
Several #NASCARPlayoffs drivers are involved! pic.twitter.com/WquYkQJmhh
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 24, 2022
Nemechek drifted back into the path of Allgaier, and both drivers suffered a nasty hit into the outside wall. Jones had nowhere to go and crashed right into the back of duo while Hemric, Mason Massey, Brennan Poole and Josh Williams were collected in the aftermath.
The crash was an especially tough break for Nemechek, as it was his first start in the No. 18…
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