Watch: Noah Gragson Fights Back and Bags a Podium Finish After Spinning From the Lead at Daytona

Noah Gragson came into the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Daytona Road Course on the back of a good run on road courses this year. He started Saturday’s race in third place and finished the opening stage in second place. Gragson then started the second stage in the lead before things went haywire for a bit.

Early on in the stage, Gragson went for a spin out of nowhere, lost his lead, and also brought the caution. But Gragson did not let his focus slip and had a strong rest of the race to finish in third place.

Noah Gragson explains the wreck

Speaking after the race, Gragson explained what caused his wreck. “We ran up towards the front at the beginning of the first stage. We finished second in the first stage. Started the second stage out in the lead. Then I stepped on my ding dong there in the kink and wrecked it pretty hard,” Noah Gragson said. “Felt like I let my JR Motorsports guys down. Dave Elenz and the rest of the guys just stuck behind me, kept fighting, and never gave up,” he added.

There was chaos between drivers later in the race as well, and Gragson said it seemed like drivers ‘were made at each other’. The 22-year-old, who drives for JR Motorsports, also explained how the race was tough on the cars. He said he feels grateful to finish third after the wreck earlier.

Watch the incident here

Gragson goes spinning on the Daytona Road Course

Daytona race tough on cars

“Just tried not to make enemies out there. Seems like some guys are mad at each other. But I had a good time. It was tough on brakes, tough on tires, the track got greasy there in the end,” Gragson said. “Everyone’s brakes were worn out. Everybody’s going as hard as they can, probably 105%. Just trying to save my car there at the end, obviously didn’t at the beginning of the second stage. We recovered for third so thankful for the opportunity,” he added.

Austin Cindric won the race while Brandon Jones was second. With the third-place finish, Gragson maintains his 100 percent record of a top-10 finish on every road-course event in the Xfinity Series this year.

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