Noah Gragson Has A Clean Slate At Kentucky Speedway

Although rookie Noah Gragson has one prior start at Kentucky Speedway in a 2015 ARCA Racing Series event, the experience he gained at that race will not benefit him very much when he returns to Kentucky this week since the track has changed drastically after it was repaved last year.

 A comprehensive renovation of Kentucky Speedway was completed last June. The endeavor included increased banking in turns one and two, improvements to its drainage system, additional SAFER barriers and a complete repave of the racing surface. An additional layer of asphalt was applied last fall and allowed to cure over the winter months. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers will be the first to experience the new pavement in competition Thursday night in the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225.

 Kentucky is no longer the bumpy surface Gragson remembers from the ARCA race in 2015, but that will not shake his confidence. Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) is the defending winner of last year’s race with William Byron, so Gragson has a solid baseline set-up for his No. 18 Switch Tundra to begin the three practices scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. KBM teams have three wins at Kentucky with Byron last year and owner-driver Kyle Busch in 2011 and 2014. They have led 582 laps and collected 10 top-five finishes in 18 starts.

 Gragson has been on a roll this summer posting two poles (Texas and Iowa) and five consecutive top-10 finishes. In the first four races of the season, the 18-year-old had an average finish of 18.0. His average finish for the last five races is 8.0, a significant improvement in a short amount of time. With tracks like Kentucky, Pocono and Michigan on the horizon, he hopes to turn those top-10 finishes into consecutive top-five finishes and wins.

 Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 18 NCWTS Switch Tundra:

Will your previous ARCA start at Kentucky in 2015 benefit you since the track was repaved since then?

“It’s completely different now, but it was super bumpy when I raced there. I really don’t know what to expect now. I’ve been watching video of the races from last year, and they have put down more asphalt since then, so it will be totally different. The track will probably be pretty single-grooved, so I’m going into it open minded and treat it kind of like I did Texas Motor Speedway. We sat on the pole there, so I think we’ll be alright. We have three practices so that will help, and I’m sure the XFINITY cars will put down more rubber in practice before our race.”

 Since KBM won at Kentucky last year, do you go off Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and William Byron’s set-up notes?

“Rudy and my crew chief Marcus (Richmond) work really closely so we’ll definitely use their notes from last year as a starting point. All the KBM crew chiefs work well together and help each other out. Our trucks are set up pretty similarly when we get to the race track. We just have to work hard and stay focused. The preparation will be there, so we just need to execute. The surface will be new for everyone so we’re kind of all in the same boat.”

 You are taking the same Tundra you finished ninth with at Charlotte in May. Do you have a favorite truck yet?

“My favorite truck so far was the one I just raced at Iowa and a few weeks earlier at Dover. It’s pretty fast and it’s been good to me. I won my second pole of the season with it at Iowa. There are no bad trucks at KBM, but there will always be some cars or trucks you like better than others. I know coming into every race the guys have prepared a fast Switch Tundra for me.”

 Marcus Richmond, Crew Chief of the No. 18 NCWTS Switch Tundra:

How do you prepare for a newly paved track?

“The race track is probably going to be pretty slick until some rubber gets laid down. Since they put down more new asphalt in the fall, there will probably be just one groove, and it’s usually pretty hard on tires. The track is going to be really fast and slick so we have to be smart and try to use strategy to be in the right spot at the right time. Since we have three hours of practice on Wednesday and the XFINITY cars get about three hours before our race on Thursday, I’m hoping that will start to work in a second groove.”

 Does a new surface even the playing field for everyone?

“I think so. Noah won’t be the only driver out there getting comfortable with the new surface, it will be new for the veterans as well. I wouldn’t say being a rookie is an advantage, but it’s certainly less of a disadvantage when nobody knows what to expect from the track. If it rains between our final practice and the race, that will change the track for everyone too.”

 Noah Gragson’s No. 18 Switch Tundra:

KBM-042: The No. 18 Switch team will race KBM-042, for Thursday’s Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway. This is the same Tundra Gragson raced at Charlotte earlier this season where he finished ninth.

Notes of Interest:

Noah Gragson 2017:

• Earned his first top-five finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by finishing fourth at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April

• Won first career NCWTS pole at Texas Motor Speedway on 6/9 and second at Iowa Speedway on 6/23

• Has posted one top-five and six-top 10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4 across nine NCWTS starts this season

• Is currently ninth in the NCWTS standings, 25 points out of the eighth and the final playoff spot

• Competed in the ARCA Racing Series at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway

Noah Gragson 2016:

• Made first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway in November where he completed all the laps to finish 16th. Finished 15th the following week at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway

• Returned to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West where he earned two wins, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 14 starts to finish third in the driver point standings

• Competed in 13 of 14 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races claiming two wins, four top-five and six top-10 finishes

Noah Gragson 2015

• Finished second in the final NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver point standings as a rookie after posting two wins, one pole, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 13 starts

• Claimed his first victory at Tucson (Ariz.) Speedway battling with his teammate for the win

• Recorded first career pole and led 176 laps to win at Meridian Speedway in Meridian, Idaho

Noah Gragson 2014

• Started racing Bandoleros at The Bullring at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway

• Moved up to compete in Late Models

• Competed in the INEX Legends car racing series, winning the 2014 Young Lion Road Course championship

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Tundra:

• The No. 18 team is currently 11^th in owner points and ninth in driver points after collecting their sixth top-10 finish and second pole

• Five members of this year’s No. 18 Tundra team were a part of last year’s No. 4 Tundra team which collected one win, 197 laps led, nine top-five and 17 top-10 finishes across 23 starts and made the inaugural Championship Four in the Chase

KBM NCWTS Program

• Holds the NCWTS records for most career wins (60), most wins in a single season (14 in 2014) and most Owner’s championships (five)

• Erik Jones earned the organization its first-ever NCWTS Driver’s championship in 2015

• Has collected 60 wins, 33 poles, 141 top-five and 227 top-10 finishes across 376 starts since originating in 2010

• Nine different drivers have won a race for KBM, led by owner-driver Kyle Busch with 32. Erik Jones and William Byron each collected seven victories, Darrell Wallace Jr., has five wins, Christopher Bell owns four, Denny Hamlin has produced two victories while Daniel Suarez, Kasey Kahne and Brian Scott each collected one triumph

• With Bell’s victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway KBM has at least one win at all 21 tracks on the 2017 NCWTS schedule

KBM NCWTS @ Kentucky Speedway

• KBM drivers have collected three wins, 582 laps led, 10 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.9 across 18 starts at Kentucky

• Driver-owner Kyle Busch claimed two of KBM’s victories in the Bluegrass state (2011 and 2014) along with William Byron (2016)

Richmond’s Record:

Entering the 2017 season, Marcus Richmond had collected nine wins, 11 poles, 52 top-five and 107 top-10 finishes across 222 races in his 11 seasons as a crew chief in the Truck Series. The veteran crew chief has been to victory lane with five different drivers (Ty Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter and Dennis Setzer) and has recorded at least one win every year since 2012. The North Carolina native’s drivers have finished inside the top five in the Truck Series championship standings four times in the last five seasons, including a runner-up finish in the standings with Ty Dillon in 2012. His most recent stop was at JR Motorsports last season, where he guided Cole Custer to two poles, four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes over the last 16 races of 2016. Richmond joined KBM in December 2016 to coach rookie Noah Gragson in 2017.

Richmond has one win, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 12 starts as a NCWTS crew chief at Kentucky. His team lead 26 laps for the win in 2013 with Ty Dillon behind the wheel.

Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 Switch Toyota Tundra 2017 NCWTS Box Score: