CREW CHIEF: Luke Lambert
TEAM: JR Motorsports
POINTS: Second in Xfinity Series
WINS: Eight (Phoenix I, Talladega I, Pocono, Darlington II, Kansas, Bristol, Texas II, Homestead)
LAPS LED: 1,010
TOP 5s: 21
TOP 10s: 26
QUALIFIED FIRST: Twice (Texas 1, Michigan)
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Noah Gragson, carrying his sometimes brash personality along with him, breezed to eight wins, leading all drivers in that category.
He roared out of the gate in style, finishing third at Daytona, second at Auto Club and second at Las Vegas before finding Victory Lane at Phoenix, leading 114 of the 200 laps.
He reached superstar status late in the season, winning four consecutive races (Darlington, Kansas, Bristol, Texas) at very different tracks. The Darlington win was particularly impressive as three drivers held the lead over the final three laps.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Not much. Gragson had some high-profile disagreements with Jeb Burton, Ty Gibbs, Sage Karam and others during the year. He came up short in the championship race as Gibbs dominated to win the title.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023: Gragson is moving on to the Cup Series, where he’ll drive for the Petty-GMS team. Luke Lambert, his Xfinity crew chief, also is moving to GMS.
Gragson likely will face a steep learning curve at the next level, but, as was the case in his Xfinity career, he’ll probably be entertaining.
