ROSSBURG, Ohio – Noah Gragson may be riding a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but he knows that Wednesday’s race at Eldora Speedway is a true wild card.
That’s why the Las Vegas native, who just celebrated his 20th birthday over the weekend, is going into NASCAR’s only dirt-track race with an open mind.
Gragson treated last year’s event at the Tony Stewart-owned half-mile as a “throwaway race” and ultimately scored a seventh-place finish, marking his seventh-straight top-10 at that point in the 2017 season.
Entering this year’s running on a similar wave of consistency, Gragson is hoping the exact same strategy will pay dividends for him again.
“I don’t think I’ll necessarily be able to enjoy it more than I did last year … because last year I went into Eldora as a throwaway race in a sense and I really just tried to have fun out in the dirt and learn slipping and sliding, but we’ll definitely have just as much fun as we did then,” Gragson smiled. “Once you are in that thing and your competitive mindset kicks in, you’re like, ‘Man I’m running 15th when I shouldn’t be running 15th, even though it’s my first time on dirt! You get out there and your competitive fire kicks in.
“Eldora is the type of race where as a driver, you want to do better and better and you overtry sometimes because you are out of your comfort zone,” he continued. “It should be really fun. I’m looking forward to this year – it’s going to be a lot more fun just because I don’t have to race and get in the playoffs, so I’m going to go into it as a throwaway race again and see what happens.”
Gragson was all smiles last season after climbing from his battered No. 18 Toyota at the end of Eldora’s Dirt Derby, having had what he called the time of his life mixing it up with some of the best dirt track racers in the sport and getting out of his comfort zone.
“That race last year was ridiculous, but also so much fun,” Gragson noted. “It was something that really wasn’t in my wheelhouse. I’m used to running short-track asphalt stuff … and this was nothing like anything I’d ever done before. The track was constantly changing. It was wild going three or four-wide most of the race and I was pretty pumped to finish seventh.
“You never really know how races like that are going to go, so I just went in not really having many expectations and we ended up having a great day. This week is big for my sponsor, Safelite, because their headquarters are here in Ohio … and we hope we can replicate and add to the success we had last year at Eldora.”
While multiple drivers in the Truck Series field at Eldora go in with plenty of dirt-track experience or serve as ringers (dirt-track specialists), Gragson’s Dirt Derby appearance last year was the first dirt race of his entire career.
Gragson may have a little more confidence this time around because of that experience, but he stills knows his path to victory won’t be an easy road.
“Eldora is tough because I don’t race dirt. I don’t come from that background,” said Gragson. “I’ve never really had the opportunity to go out there and race dirt or have really any experience, so it’s going to be tough. Luckily, I was able to race it last year … so I kind of have a little bit more confidence going into it this year. Other than that, there’s nothing you can really do to prepare yourself if you’re not a dirt racer.
“It’s going to be challenging, but I’m up for it. It’ll be fun and anyone who knows me knows that’s what I’m all about.”
