NOAH GRAGSON
Bristol Advance
No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Round 29 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 21
● Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: .533-mile, concrete oval
● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/266.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 125 laps / Stage 2: 125 laps / Final Stage: 250 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The Bass Pro Shops Night Race Saturday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway will mark Noah Gragson’s second NASCAR Cup Series start on the concrete-clad, .533-mile oval. The 26-year-old racer from Las Vegas last competed on the track in March when he started 22nd and finished 34th in the Food City 500. Gragson did, however, race a Cup car at Bristol twice prior to his March visit, but it was when Bristol’s straightaways and high banks were covered in 23,000 cubic yards of red clay. In the Food City Dirt Race in 2022 and 2023, Gragson finished 27th and 33rd, respectively.

● Despite that limited experience, Gragson is very familiar with Bristol’s high banks and short straights. The driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing has six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Bristol with an average finish of 7.8. Two wins and two other top-10s helped aid that number.

● Gragson finished ninth in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol in April 2019. When he returned to the track a little more than a year later, Gragson left a winner. After starting ninth in the Cheddar’s 300, Gragson took the lead on lap 46 and paced the field for the next 46 laps. There were other strong contenders, most notably Justin Allgaier, who led a race-high 156 laps. In fact, the race came down to a battle between Gragson and Allgaier, who were teammates at JR Motorsports. On lap 296, Gragson got by Allgaier, who then slipped up into the wall to bring out the caution. That set up a green-white-checkered finish where Gragson held on to the lead, beating his now teammate at Stewart-Haas, Chase Briscoe, to the line by .328 of a second.

● Gragson’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Bristol came in his last Xfinity Series start at the track. In the 2022 Food City 300 – the cutoff race for the NASCAR Playoffs – Gragson again started ninth and again his main rival was Allgaier. This time Allgaier led a race-high 148 laps, but a late-race speeding penalty doomed his race and handed the lead to Gragson on lap 276. However, earning the victory was no walk in the park. Gragson had to hold off a hard-charging Brandon Jones over the last 20 laps, with Gragson besting Jones by just .145 of a second. It was Gragson’s third straight Xfinity Series victory, a run that would continue the very next week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth where he won his fourth consecutive race.

● Gragson has two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Bristol. He finished 15th in 2017 and then bettered that performance with a ninth-place drive in 2018 when he led seven laps.

● Gragson first experienced Bristol in the NASCAR K&N Series East. He made two starts in this developmental division, debuting in 2016 when he finished 12th. He returned in 2018 for his second K&N Series race at Bristol, and with three more years of racing experience under his belt, Gragson won the pole and led the first 54 laps before finishing third.

Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

When the NASCAR Cup Series last raced at Bristol in March, that was your first Cup Series start on Bristol’s traditional, concrete layout. What was it like compared to what you knew the track to be when you competed there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series?

“The tire compound kind of threw everybody for a loop because it wore so differently than anything anyone had experienced before. No one was really sure if it was heat-related, if it was the temperature of the racetrack, rubber getting laid down, whatever it was, but the tire wore out quite a bit compared to prior Cup races that I hadn’t been a part of. Hopefully, you can go around 40 laps on a set of tires and you save them better than the competition, so you kind of just have to pace yourself.”

Your Stewart-Haas teammate, Chase Briscoe, was able to participate in a Goodyear tire test over the summer at Bristol. How valuable is the data from that test for you and your teammates?

“It’s tough because it takes a lot of running to lay rubber on the racetrack. When they tested up there, is was Chase and just two other cars. It typically takes the full three days to get some rubber on the racetrack, so that test really isn’t the same as when we go there for practice and the race.”

The tire wear we saw in the last race at Bristol – did you like it or dislike it?

“I liked it just because it was so much different, and I thought there was a lot of strategy from the driver’s input and how you paced your runs, so with the tires wearing out, it was definitely challenging. The cautions were a question of if they were going to throw a caution or not, and we kind of had challenges there on how you needed to pace out the runs. But other than that, I thought it was a lot of fun just being able to manage your tires like a Late Model race.”

It seemed like a return to old-school racing, where tire management was the key to success. In all the racing that you’ve done in your career, was there a track or style of car where you had to manage your tires that you ended up relying on for that Bristol race?

“Growing up short-track racing, you’re always managing your tires at the worn-out racetracks – Pensacola, Tucson Speedway, Greenville-Pickens. You’re always losing grip throughout a run and the more you can save, the more speed you could have at the end of a run. Bristol was a little different – it was the same in a sense, but it was different because you would wear the tire all the way down to the cords where you just blew the tire, so you had to be patient and save your aggression at the beginning of a run and throughout a run just so you didn’t blow the tire all the way out and wear it all the way down, compared to Late Model races where you lose grip as the laps go on, but the harder you push.”

How do you save your tires? You have to continue to race, but what is that balance between racing for the position you have now and the position you want to have later?

“You just keep the car a little straighter on exits and if you get to 100-percent throttle at some point, you knock it down maybe 20-percent throttle and you just wait on it, you pick the gas up, and instead of wide open, you might go to 50 percent for a little bit just so you’re not slipping that tire on the surface of the racetrack, not grinding through the front tires, overdriving your entries. It’s challenging, but it’s a lot of fun, too, to be able to out-save the guys in front of you. And then you could see the cords at Bristol on the guys in front of you. You could literally see a white ring around their tires and you’d be like, ‘Alright, I can get that guy easily.’ I mean, they fall off the pace so fast.”

We’ve talked about how different the current Cup car is to an Xfinity Series car, but with six Xfinity Series starts at Bristol – two of which ended in victory lane – do you feel you have a good handle on the racetrack despite not having much Cup experience at Bristol?

“I think having a good game plan and preparation is good, but you don’t fully know what your car is going to handle like until you get there and see how the grip levels of the traction compound are going to be. Is it going to be faster to run around the bottom? Will the race move up? Those are kind of unknowns until you see just how the rubber’s being laid down. The preparation’s there to have a solid idea of what we’re going to need to have or need to do.”

Bristol is a tough place, period. It’s an even tougher place to win. How satisfying was your first Bristol win in June 2020, which came during COVID?

“It was definitely different during COVID. It felt a little eerie, just because that place has so many grandstands and you’re surrounded by it, so when you don’t have anyone there, it’s a little awkward. But at the same time, it was still really special. I think the coolest part about winning at Bristol is driving up on top of the building to victory lane, and the trophy’s pretty cool – you get a sword, so that’s awesome. Then to do it in 2022 again, with fans there, it was super cool, the whole place just cheering your name and cheering you on. I always like to do a burnout up that driveway up onto the second floor, up on top of that building. That’s always super cool.”

Do you feel like you’ve conquered something when you win at Bristol?

“Yeah, it was the coolest track as a little kid, probably the most unique track that we go to. I feel like every driver probably has that on their bucket list of, ‘Man, I want to win there one day.’ There’s nothing like it.”

How important is patience at Bristol, but when do you also have to determine when enough is enough and assert yourself so you’re not getting taken advantage of out there on the racetrack?

“You have to be disciplined at Bristol, but I don’t know if you necessarily have to be patient. You have to go from the get-go and make as much lap time as possible because if you get stuck or can’t make a pass, the leaders are coming and they’re not slowing down for anything. You’ve got to be on your game from lap one all the way to the checkered flag.”

You first saw Bristol back in 2016 when you competed in a NASCAR K&N Series East race. Was that an eyes-wide-open moment?

“I don’t want to say I was scared, but I was just nervous because I didn’t know what to think. It was definitely intimidating because you’re like, ‘Oh, man, this place looks pretty fast.’ You don’t really know when you’re a 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kid going there, but after having reps of doing it, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable. But I remember my first laps on the racetrack and I remember looking around and wondering how did I just manage to get around this track with the amount of throttle I was carrying. It’s definitely a daunting racetrack and there are some big moments. I feel like Bristol probably has the highest sensation of speed of any track, even though we’re probably going the slowest of any track. It feels like you’re going the fastest because things happen so fast and you’re around other cars and you’re constantly up close to other cars, or you’re side-by-side with other cars, two-, three-wide. It gets pretty intense. You think, man, I don’t think this thing is going to grip up and it does. It’s a pretty wild feeling.”

No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Noah Gragson

Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

Hometown: Decatur, Illinois

Car Chief: Jerry Cook

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Engineer: James Kimbrough

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

Spotter: Andy Houston

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder

Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa

Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

Hometown: King, North Carolina

Jack Man: Sean Cotten

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener

Hometown: Fortuna, California

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Beau Whitley

Hometown: Carmel, Indiana

Tire Specialist: Jacob Cooksey

Hometown: Westbrookville, New York

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Steve Casper

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

CLUB ENTRY LIST

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
POINT STANDINGS: 34TH

ERIK JONES
POINT STANDINGS: 29TH

CLUB NOTES

Happy Birthday Jimmie!: On Tuesday, September 17, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB co-owner, Jimmie Johnson will celebrate his 49th birthday!

Happy Birthday!: David Marin, mechanic on the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek celebrates a birthday on race day at Bristol.

Bristol 1 Recap: The spring Bristol race saw a lot of drama throughout the race. During each run, there was a fine line of how long the tires would last. John Hunter Nemechek had a strong day throughout the afternoon in his LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE – with top-five finishes in both stages and a sixth-place finish – which gave the North Carolina-native a career-best NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) finish.

It was a slightly different race for the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team and Erik Jones. A solid qualifying effort saw him start in 15th, and when the race was complete, he finished in 20th.

JHN Stats Nemechek has ten starts at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Truck Series – eight on concrete and two on dirt. Of the eight on concrete, he has four top-five and six top-10 finishes, a 12th-place finish, and a 29th-place finish. On the Bristol dirt, he has one pole position, a third-place finish, and one DNF. The North Carolina-native also has four NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts on his resume, with three top-five finishes. He will make his fourth NCS start this weekend, in his previous three starts, he scored his current career best NCS finish of sixth-place. In all of his total 17 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Nemechek has an average finish of 10.1.

Beshore’s 100TH Race: At the Bass Pro Shop Night Race at Bristol, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB crew chief, Ben Beshore will be calling his 100th career race as a NCS crew chief. The York, Pa.-native got his start in NASCAR in 2007 at Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK) as a race engineer. He moved over to Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2014. He called his first race as a NCS crew chief in 2017 at Pocono Raceway with Kyle Busch as the driver. In his debut race, the team sat on the pole. In 2024, Beshore followed John Hunter Nemechek to serve as the crew chief on the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE entry.

EJ Stats: Jones has 15 NCS starts, five NXS starts, and one NASCAR Truck Series start at the Tennessee track. Jones has two wins in the NXS at Bristol Motor Speedway – one in 2016 and one in 2017, both in the spring of the respective year. He earned one top-10 in the Truck Series in 2015 – his first and only full-time season. In the NASCAR Cup Series, the Michigan native has accumulated six top-10s and four top-5s – one top-10 coming from the “Bristol Dirt” race in 2021. Of note, his best Cup Series finish was a runner up in 2017.

Elenz Stats: Crew Chief Dave Elenz has also visited Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has earned one win in the NXS with Noah Gragson in 2021. Elenz has nine NXS starts during his full-time tenure in the Xfinity Series obtaining five top-10s. Elenz teamed up with Jones in 2022, and the duo has earned one top-15 at the “Bristol Dirt” version of the race in 2023.

Appearances: Jones and Nemechek will be tag-teaming the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB merchandise hauler in the fan zone at Bristol Motor Speedway at 3:30 P.M. ET on Saturday.

Testing: Earlier this summer in July, the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB with Nemechek behind the wheels was one of six participants in a NASCAR Goodyear tire test at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Anytime I can come to Bristol and get some laps in is super exciting and being able to be a part of this test and try and learn something and figure out what we need when we come back later in the year is the goal. We will go back and debrief and talk about it,” shared Nemechek regarding the test. “I know I am probably one of the few, but I really enjoyed the spring race (Food City 500 in March), it made the driver have to save tires instead of going all out every lap and try to predict where the falloff was going to be and there were crew chiefs making strategy calls, like whether to pit under green. Some people say it’s chaos I guess, but overall, I thought it was a great race. From a spectator standpoint I went back and watched the race (on TV). I thought it was great. The temperatures definitely play a factor in the racetrack and how much it changes your balance in the car. I feel like when we come back, we will have a little cooler conditions and we may have a little bit different of a race track,” added Nemechek following the test session.

Going for G.O.L.D.: Partners Dollar Tree Family Dollar has a “Go for G.O.L.D.” (Grand Opening Look Daily) program. Each week throughout the season, the No. 42 and No. 43 will feature one of the local stores on the decklid of the Toyota Camry XSE.

PETTY 75TH ANNIVERSARY

ABOUT PETTY 75th: The 2024 season marks a significant milestone in the history of the Petty family as they have helped define stock car racing for 75 years. Their commitment to the sport and the people who make it possible – behind the wheel, under the hood, in the back office, and beyond – has shaped the growth and success of NASCAR. Their LEGACY lives on with the countless fans, drivers, technicians, and team members they touched. Throughout 2024, LEGACY M.C. will celebrate the Petty family and share countless memories with friends and fans at racetracks across the country.

This Week in Petty History: On September 17, 1965, Richard Petty collected his 40th Career Win at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas Va. On September 18, 1960, The King drove to his third career win at Orange Speedway. During this race, Petty led all 110 laps to notch his first win from the pole position.

The King’s Hat: At the spring Bristol race in March, The King’s Hat was unveiled. The Kings Hat was a nod to the 60 races that Richard Petty competed at the half-mile coliseum and the signature black hats he wore while racing there. The King’s Hat will once again be on display and will be located in the Fan Zone.

CLUB QUOTES

John Hunter Nemechek, Driver of the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE:

“I’ve been good (at Bristol) – it’s just been a track that has suited me well throughout my career. I’ve always had fast vehicles there. I’ve finished third (seven times) and should have won a couple times but haven’t been able to break through…yet. It’s a fun place and I love going there. I enjoy moving around by running the bottom and top and with tire wear, it falls back into what I used run with Late Models and try to conserve and makes them last. I’m going in with no expectations — don’t want to disappoint myself.”

Ben Beshore, Crew chief of the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE:

“Sounds like NASCAR is not going to do anything different so I wouldn’t expect anything different than what we had in the spring. We didn’t lay rubber in the test (in July) so I wouldn’t expect for us to lay any rubber down this time around. You got what you got – it’s going to be a game of managing tires and holding your position without hurting your tires. We have enough tires for about every 50-laps or so; you’re going to have to play it if we get a longer run, you’re not the first one to fall off a cliff and burn through your tires. John Hunter did a great managing tires – we were one of the six guys that got to go to the test and work on some stuff and get even more of a feel for what we’re going to have this weekend – so yeah, we’re optimistic and hopefully match the success we had in the spring.”

Erik Jones, Driver of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE:

“It’s tough to tell at Bristol, it seemed like the concrete in the past there was not much wear on the tires and you could really run aggressive and hard for the entirety of the run and tires weren’t a lot. Obviously in the spring we saw a really different race than we’ve probably ever seen at Bristol with a lot of tire wear and fall off and guys blowing tires out from so much wear in a pretty short amount of time – 60 to 70 laps. I think everybody is a little unclear on what this race is going to look like in that sense, but the management is definitely going to be a big part of this game if it’s similar to the spring again.

Racing at night is a little bit different at Bristol, grip level is definitely higher and it seems like the track takes a little bit longer to widen out sometimes to get to the top side. The atmosphere is probably the biggest difference. I think everybody really looks forward to the night race from the drivers to the fans, so the atmosphere is really pumped up for the night race.”

Dave Elenz, Crew chief of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE:

“Being a concrete track, the surface is more abrasive and tends to be harder on tires. That is, until it takes rubber. What’s been interesting about Bristol this year is it did not take the rubber like we’re used to expecting. It remained that abrasive, concrete surface that created a lot of tire wear for us. So that made it a challenge for us, we had to be really good at saving tires throughout the run. I think you saw the guys that went hard early and got the track position and then saved tires later they probably came out the best in the situation. You have to have track position to save tires so we’re going to work hard to get up front and then worry about saving tires from there.

I don’t feel like anyone can win Bristol. I think guys that are good getting into a rhythm and fast pace type driving – those are the guys that are going to be good there. I think Erik’s really good there… there’s just a handful of guys that really get a good feel for the track and understand the rhythm and can really excel at that place. You either have it or you don’t, it seems like at Bristol, and fortunately we have a guy that has it.”

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Last week Jimmie Johnson, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Richard Petty, Dale Inman, Trevor Bayne, Matt Kenseth from LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team participated their partners’ Dollar Tree / Family Dollar Field Leadership Summit in Orlando, Fla. The group greeted those in attendance with a questions and answer session, autographs, and photo opportunities. (Photos by LEGACY MOTOR CLUB)

BROADCAST INFO

 BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST @ 7:30 PM ET

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice “Maury” J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The CLUB competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series fielding the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE of John Hunter Nemechek, the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE of Erik Jones, and the No. 84 limited schedule entry for Johnson. LEGACY M.C. also competes in the Extreme E Series. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty “The King” serves as CLUB Ambassador. With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ on Facebook, X, Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.

ABOUT PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY:The U.S. leader in fully integrated life safety systems, Pye-Barker Fire & Safety provides complete fire protection and security systems nationwide. With over 200 locations and 6,000 team members nationwide, Pye-Barker is an industry leader and ranks No. 954 on the Inc 5000 and No. 9 on the SDM 100.

ABOUT DOLLAR TREE, INC.: Dollar Tree, a Fortune 200 Company, operated 16,622 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of October 28, 2023. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree Canada. To learn more about the Company, visit www.DollarTree.com.