TALLADEGA, Ala. – A season ago, Noah Gragson’s best finish was no better than 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series.
A refresh with a new destination continually pays off greatly for the Las Vegas driver.
Even before the green flag fell on what ended up being a sunny afternoon for Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Gragson had already exceeded last year’s on-track results three times with a pair of finishes in the top 12.
He took that up a few notches on Sunday (April 21).
In the middle of all the beating and banging coming to the checkered flag at Talladega’s differently-placed start/finish line, Gragson made his way through, finishing a career-best third behind second-place Brad Keselowski and race-winner Tyler Reddick.
“It feels good. We were trying to get a Ford Mustang in victory lane. We definitely wanted it to be us,” Gragson said post-race. “Seeing Keselowski and (Michael) McDowell coming off turn number four there at the end coming to the checkers, they started blocking each other up and down the racetrack, trying to get side by side.”
As ecstatic as Gragson was on Sunday, he was also that much closer to getting a race win.
“I thought that we were going to squeak through. But I unfortunately had to check up too much,” he continued. “It was pretty cool taking to Keselowski after the race. He was really appreciative of the pushes that I was giving him. I’m just trying to gain respect out here. I appreciate all the fans, it’s been a fun weekend at Talladega.”
Gragson’s top five was not a case of riding around and surviving. He faced an uphill climb from the start after rolling off 36th but made his way forward. Overall, Gragson earned 34 points, fifth-best among all drivers and his career-high in the Cup Series. Before Sunday, the most points Gragson earned since the start of last season was 31 earlier this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Awesome job by the Overstock team all day. We led some laps. It’s good to have these days,” Gragson added. “I don’t have too much experience in the Cup Series racing up front. But (Sunday) was definitely a lot of momentum. a lot of experience learned.”
Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …