Gragson had dominated much of Saturday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway but a late-race caution for an accident sent the leaders to pit road and bunched the field one final time.
Gragson’s No. 9 JR Motorsports team got him off pit road first and he easily cleared for the lead on the restart with five of 200 laps remaining. He held off a late charge by Gibbs by 0.550 seconds to earn his eighth win of the 2022 season.
Even more important, the victory automatically allows Gragson to compete for the series championship in two weeks at Phoenix, regardless of how he finishes next weekend at Martinsville, Va.
“We just kicked their ass baby, let’s go,” said Gragson, who led 127 laps. “I wanted this one so bad after the last three years. Words can’t describe how thankful I am for everybody at JR Motorsports. It’s just unbelievable.
“Man, I’m worn out. I was driving my ass off there. It takes a lot of focus to run the fence like that. The pit crew did a great job. I’m just really grateful.”
Gragson joins JRM teammate Josh Berry – who won last week’s race at Las Vegas – in the Championship 4. The final two positions will be determined next weekend at Martinsville.
The four drivers lowest in points in the semifinal round and most in danger of missing the cutoff are Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer and Brandson Jones.
A.J. Allmendinger finished third in the race, Daniel Hemric was fourth and Mayer rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 were Trevor Bayne, Chandler Smith, Riley Herbst, Hill and Allgaier.
Stage 3
Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Gragson first off pit road.
On the restart on Lap 97, Gragson was followed by Hill, Allmendinger and Mayer.
Hill got around Gragson on Lap 98 to retake the lead. On Lap 101, Bayne went to the inside of Hill in Turns 1 and 2 to return to the race lead.
After hounding Bayne for several laps, Gragson passed him to reclaim the lead on Lap 125.
On Lap 142, Hill was the first of the lead-lap cars to hit pit road for a round of green-flag pit stops for new tires and fuel to make it to the end of the race.
Bayne was penalized for speeding on pit road during his stop and had to serve a pass-through penalty.
Once the cycle of stops was completed on Lap 145, Gragson returned to the lead. He was followed by Hill, Allmendinger and Gibbs.
Hill elected to pit again on Lap 153 under green after he reported a…
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