NASCAR: Noah Gragson focused on Truck championship, not rumors

By Asher Fair | Aug 30, 2018

BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 16: Noah Gragson, driver of the #18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UHOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 16, 2018 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

Noah Gragson is focused on winning this season’s NASCAR Truck Series championship, not rumors about driving in the Xfinity Series in 2019.

Noah Gragson is in his second season as a full-time NASCAR Truck Series driver driving the #18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, but he has been tipped to replace 23-year NASCAR veteran Elliott Sadler at JR Motorsports in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, as Sadler is set to retire at the end of the 2018 season.

However, the 20-year-old has stated that he is more focused on winning this year’s Truck Series championship as opposed to worrying about which team he might end up driving for in 2019 and in which series.

Here is what Gragson had to say about the matter, according to Yahoo Sports.

"“Well, I think the key word to that whole phrase was ‘rumor mill’. Right now that‘s not really my focus. I know my (management) guys have been working really hard on finding me an opportunity next year, but my main focus is to win a championship at Kyle Busch Motorsports and compete for wins on a weekly basis. That’s my main focus, to try to get that championship for all the employees over there, for myself and my sponsors. Hopefully we can win a few more races and the rest will take care of itself.”"

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With 17 races of the 23-race 2018 Truck Series season and one race of the seven-race Truck Series playoffs in the books, Gragson, who is one of eight drivers who qualified for the playoffs and is now competing to win the championship, sits in fourth place in the playoff picture with 24 points, a total that ranks third among all playoff drivers.

Gragson currently sits 24 points above the round of 6 cut line. He has earned one victory, six top five finishes and 13 top 10 finishes through the first 17 races of the season. His victory came in the sixth race of the season at Kansas Speedway.

Gragson has competed in just 16 of the 17 races that have been contested so far this season, as he missed the 14th race of the season race at Pocono Raceway due to an illness. As a result, NASCAR granted him a medical waiver so that he kept his playoff eligibility that he earned by securing that victory at Kansas Speedway earlier in the year.

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When will JR Motorsports announce which driver will replace Elliott Sadler behind the wheel of the #1 Chevrolet in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series? Will Noah Gragson be the driver who ends up replacing Sadler, and will these rumors of him signing with the team be in the back of his mind as he competes to advance in the Truck Series playoffs and win his first career Truck Series championship over the next few months?

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