Gragson On Indy Ending: ‘I Thought It’d Be Nashville 2.0’

Noah Gragson in action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (HHP/Jacy Norgaard photo)

INDIANAPOLIS – Noah Gragson finally rebounded with a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 presented by PPG, netting his first top 10 in nearly a month after a chaotic, double-overtime ending.

The Las Vegas native, who recently celebrated his 26th birthday, caught some breaks late in the race to finish solidly for the first time since Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway on June 30.

Gragson and the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops Ford team lacked speed entering the weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but dug their heels in and kept finding ways to make the most of the situations they were presented with.

“We struggled at the beginning part of the weekend and [we were] definitely grateful to come back [stronger],” said Gragson. “I don't know officially where we’d [have been] with[out] those guys running out of gas off of turn four, but we had plenty of fuel.”

Gragson credited crew chief Drew Blickensderfer for the top 10 in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start on the IMS oval. He also finished 10th in the first 50-lap stage at the 2.5-mile oval to earn a bonus point toward his regular season total.

“Drew called a great race, and it is always fun to have Bass Pro Shops on the hood,” he noted. “We struggled on Friday in practice, but got a little better in qualifying, timed in 21st and then just made progress all day.

“We got a stage point in stage one. [With] strategy, you never know when the caution is going to come out, but Drew made some great calls.”

After signing a multiyear Cup Series deal with Front Row Motorsports on July 10, Gragson collected his seventh top 10 of the season, as he continues to learn and prepare for his next opportunity at the top level of the sport.

However, that doesn’t mean he’s not still trying to finish the current season strong. Indianapolis gave him a chance to work on that goal Sunday, but Gragson admitted he was having momentary flashbacks to the Music City as the laps wound down at the Brickyard.

“I had more gas than the rest of them there … but for a second I thought it was going to be Nashville 2.0, with a bunch of [overtime] restarts,” he laughed. “We were able to hang on and come out of here unscathed, though, and that’s a good thing.”

After taking two weeks off for the Summer Olympics in Paris, the Cup Series will return to action at the three-quarter-mile Richmond (Va.) Raceway, where Denny Hamlin won back in April.

Coverage of the Cook Out 400 begins Sunday, Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.