For the fourth time since NASCAR’s return in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Noah Gragson will start on pole position for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race by virtue of a random draw. On this occasion, the Las Vegas, Nevada, native drew the pole position that will allow him to lead the field to the start of the Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky Speedway.
Gragson drew his first pole position of the season at Darlington Raceway in May when the Xfinity Series made its return from a two-month hiatus of on-track racing. He drew additional poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway and at Pocono Raceway, both in June. He is currently second in the regular-season standings, 21 points behind Chase Briscoe, and has recorded two victories this season, (Daytona International Speedway in February and at Bristol Motor Speedway in June). He has also recorded five stage wins, eight top-five results and 10 top-10 results in his second season driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports while paired with two-time Xfinity championship crew chief Dave Elenz.
Joining Gragson on the front row will be Ross Chastain, who is third in the regular-season standings. Jeb Burton, who will make his fourth Xfinity Series start of the season, will start in third and start alongside teammate Michael Annett. Rookie Harrison Burton will start fifth in his series debut at Kentucky followed by teammate Brandon Jones and Chase Briscoe, the series points leader who is coming off his thrilling win last weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit. Ryan Sieg, Justin Haley and Justin Allgaier will start in the top 10 followed by Anthony Alfredo and Austin Cindric.
Starting in positions 13-24 are Brett Moffitt, rookie Jesse Little, Garrett Smithley, Alex Labbe, B.J. McLeod, Josh Williams, Brandon Brown, Jeremy Clements, Colby Howard, Ronnie Bassett Jr., rookie Riley Herbst and Jeffrey Earnhardt.
Starting in positions 25-36 are rookie Kody Vanderwal, Mason Massey, Bayley Currey, rookie Myatt Snider, Stephen Leicht, Kyle Weatherman, rookie Joe Graf Jr., Chad Finchum, Timmy Hill, Vinnie Miller, Matt Mills and Tommy Joe Martins.
This Thursday’s race at Kentucky, spanning 134 laps, will serve as the first of a doubleheader Xfinity Series feature in the Bluegrass State, where the second event will occur the following day on Friday, July 10, for the Alsco 300, which will span 200 laps.
The Shady Rays 200, the first Kentucky race of this week, will occur on Thursday, July 9, and will air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
