Daytona Race Sees Bad Weather and Crashes for Both Dillon and Gragson.
The return to Daytona International Raceway for Ty Dillon and Noah Gragson wasn’t the most exciting weekend, but a few crashes and a storm added drama for the drivers.
With three regular races left for Gragson and the playoff season beginning for Dillon next weekend, this Daytona weekend had the potential to set them both up for success moving forward. Unfortunately for Gragson, an accident ended his race earlier than planned after he spent the entire race jockeying for a top-five finish. Dillon got caught in a much larger weather-related crash that also ended his race mere laps before the end of Stage Three.
Photo by Jim Fluharty/Harold Hinson Photography.
After a three-hour rain delay, Gragson took the lead just five laps into Stage One. Gragson was in a prime position to earn JR Motorsports a 10th Xfinity Series victory, racing in the lead until the final two laps, when contact from behind sent him into the wall and, unfortunately, out of the Wawa 250. Even with being scored 22nd at the finish, Gragson managed to hold onto his second-place playoff standings.
Photo by Jim Fluharty/Harold Hinson Photography.
“Luke (Lambert) and the whole Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee team had a great strategy for tonight, and we were in really good position to get another win,” Gragson said. “At the end, we got tagged from behind and sent up the track, and the crash ended our night. That’s plate racing. We led a lot of laps tonight and we were really fast, but it wasn’t the finish we deserved, but we’ll go to Darlington next week and get the one that got away from us tonight.”
Photo courtesy of Ty Dillon.
Where Gragson had a three-hour delay, Dillon’s race was delayed a full day. Amid on-and-off rain, the NASCAR crew struggled to make weather caution calls, and with 23 laps to go, a massive crash took out all the leaders in the race. Dillon was caught in the crash and was also unable to finish the race. Dillon ranked 18th at the end of the race and still sits in 29th position for the playoffs with 396 points.
Where to find the drivers next: Next up for Gragson and Dillon is a trip to Darlington for the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 and Cookout Southern 500. Matt Crafton will be back on Sept. 9 at the Kansas Speedway.
