Gragson added that without guidance from team owner Kyle Busch throughout the race, he might not have succeeded like he did in the end.
“I was over-driving my entries just a little bit … running with Chase (Elliott) right on his bumper when Christopher (Bell) was leading. Then Kyle started talking to me a little on there and really helped me with my braking patterns and just trying to be smooth with my footwork. So he really helped today and I don’t think I would have finished fourth without him talking to me.”
After crashing out at Daytona and a less-than-stellar 14th-place finish at Atlanta following an early spin, Saturday’s strong result helped restore Gragson’s faith in his abilities and soothed the sting of his rough start.
“Wrecking in the first two races on the first couple laps, you definitely doubt yourself. You’re not sure if you’re cut out to race with these guys being a rookie,” he admitted. “But thankfully, Martinsville Speedway is what I’m used to. (Team owner) Kyle (Busch), my crew chief Marcus Richmond and (driver coach) Brandon McReynolds have been helping me build my confidence back up. … I’ve just been trying to take my mind off the negative of the last couple of races and try to focus on what’s coming up and prepare and be better than ever going into the next couple of races.”
Perhaps a short track, akin to the bullrings that he grew up racing out in Las Vegas and on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in recent years, was exactly the medicine that the doctor ordered for Gragson.
“This half mile, flat track stuff is right up in my wheelhouse,” he explained. “This is what I have been doing for the last two years in the K&N Series. I ran the K&N West and East Series last year, so we’ve been going to tracks like this for a while. I got a couple of lucky breaks on the outside and before I came to this place, everyone said you have to be right on the bottom. That’s true once they all get strung out … but I was making the outside work on the restarts. I started passing two or three guys a restart.”
“Sometimes it takes doing something different. But all in all, I’m glad we got out of here with a good day and man, it felt good to get back to what I know. Hopefully we can carry the momentum forward into the rest of the year.”
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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