Noah Gragson scratched and clawed his way to a stout finish in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Starting deep in the field in 30th, Gragson had his work cut out for him as the green flag waved for the 267-lap race.
Though the Stewart-Haas Racing driver methodically skated toward the front.
With 20 laps to go, Gragson had vaulted up to fifth after the final restart. From there, the driver of the No. 10 Ford crossed the finish line in sixth, his second top-10 finish of the season.
For Gragson, the stellar finish was extra sweet as it was a home race for the Las Vegas native.
“These guys are good. It feels good to do it in front of the hometown crowd,” Gragson said. “I was battling Ty (Gibbs) and Ross (Chastain) there at the end for a top five. I really wanted a top five, but coming from 30th to sixth I’m just really proud of everyone’s effort.”
It was a much-needed result for the No. 10 team after Gragson and teammate Ryan Preece and the No. 41 team were docked 35 driver and owner points at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
NASCAR confiscated the roof rails from both race cars and stated the requirements for the parts were not met, resulting in the penalty.
Gragson entered Sunday’s race with negative six points. He now exits Las Vegas with 25 points, 34th in the driver standings.
“I’m still trying to figure it all out, but overall it’s a good stepping stone to where we’re at right now,” Gragson said. “We’re gonna take this and get back into the positives in points and just keep on working, keep on learning and becoming better than we were yesterday and just keep that attitude.
“I think we’ve got the tightest group in the garage. They’re awesome to work with and I love every one of them.”