STAFFORD, Conn. - Noah Gragson picked up his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East win at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway Friday night.
An exciting finish to the Stafford 150 propelled the 17-year-old, Las Vegas, Nevada, native to fourth in the series standings with 255 points.
Gragson powered his No. 7 SPEEDVEGAS/AlertID/Colliers International Ford to the lead on the first green-white-checkered attempt and held off a charging Dillon Bassett to secure his celebration in victory lane.
The NASCAR Next driver started in third on the restart and used an opportunity to make it a three wide battle with Todd Gilliland and Bassett. Gragson pulled away from Bassett to pick up his first win on the East Coast.
Gragson is no stranger to victory lane, as he collected two wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West last year en route to his runner-up finish in the championship standings and the 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year title.
Bassett finished in second, with Dawsonville, Georgia’s Spencer Davis in third, Justin Haley in fourth and Gilliland in fifth.
Collin Cabre, Austin Theriault, Christian Celaya, Hunter Baize and Ruben Garcia, Jr. rounded out the top ten.
Dominique Van Wieringen, who led 88 laps after gaining the lead three laps into the 150-lap feature, finished 16th after a spin in turn 2 on lap 91. With the laps she led, the 20-year-old from Amherstburg, Ontario, set the record for most laps led by a female in the K&N Pro Series East.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will be back in action Saturday, July 2 at Ohio’s Columbus Motor Speedway
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Stafford Motor Speedway – Stafford, CT
Stafford 150 – June 17, 2016
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 7 | Noah Gragson | SPEEDVEGAS/AlertID/Colliers Int’l Ford | 153 | 47 | 4 | Running |
| 2 | 17 | 44 | Dillon Bassett | Verizon Toyota | 152 | 43 | 1 | Running |
| 3 | 5 | 41 | Spencer Davis * | Davis Poultry Chevrolet | 153 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 12 | 5 | Justin Haley | Braun Auto Chevrolet | 153 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 6 | 16 | Todd Gilliland * | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 153 | 40 | 1 | Running |
| 6 | 22 | 2 | Collin Cabre | UTI/NTI Toyota | 153 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 9 | 1 | Austin Theriault | BarryEquipment.net Toyota | 153 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 21 | 9 | Christian Celaya | Clinica La Familia Ford | 153 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 19 | 13 | Hunter Baize * | Bicycle Playing Cards/Pine Mountain Firewood | 153 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 10 | 6 | Ruben Garcia Jr. * | Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota | 153 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 1 | 49 | John Holleman IV * | Midway Mobile Storage Ford | 153 | 34 | 1 | Running |
| 12 | 2 | 40 | Kyle Benjamin | FEVR Chevrolet | 153 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 15 | 71 | Eddie MacDonald | Grimm Construction Chevrolet | 153 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 20 | 4 | Ali Kern * | Max Siegel, Inc Toyota | 152 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 4 | 12 | Harrison Burton * | DEX Imaging/Konica Minolta Toyota | 151 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 3 | 30 | Dominique Van Wieringen * | Durobyte Ford | 151 | 28 | 2 | Running |
| 17 | 11 | 38 | Tyler Dippel * | East West Marine/TV Car Chevrolet | 149 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 8 | 29 | Grant Quinlan * | International Tool & Mold Ford | 147 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 13 | 42 | J.A. Junior Avila * | Rev Racing Toyota | 146 | 25 | Accident | |
| 20 | 18 | 39 | Justin Fontaine * | Promatic Automation Toyota | 142 | 24 | Accident | |
| 21 | 16 | 43 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Diamondback Towing/Dunley’s Ford | 141 | 23 | Accident | |
| 22 | 14 | 31 | Reid Lanpher * | Whelen Engineering/Equalizer Hitch/Fastway Trailer Chevrolet | 136 | 22 | Accident |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: John Holleman IV *, Time: 19.466 Seconds, Speed: 92.469 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 9 mins, 36 secs Average Speed: 65.948 mph Margin of Victory: .287 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 91-94 (#30 – Turn 2 – FP #09); 130-134 (#1 Turn 4 – FP#09); 137-140 (#43, #31, #39 Turn 1 – FP#1); 142-144 (Multiple Cars Turn 3- No FP); 147-150 (#42 Turn 1 – FP #71). 5 for 20 laps.
Lap Leaders: John Holleman IV * 1-2, Dominique Van Wieringen * 3-90, Dillon Bassett 91-134, Noah Gragson 135, Dillon Bassett 136-150, Todd Gilliland * 151-152, Noah Gragson 153.
Total Laps Led: Dominique Van Wieringen * 88, Dillon Bassett 59, Todd Gilliland * 2, Noah Gragson 2, John Holleman IV * 2. 6 changes involving 5 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Justin Haley 286, Spencer Davis * 264, Kyle Benjamin 259, Noah Gragson 255, Austin Theriault 236, Tyler Dippel * 233, Ronnie Bassett Jr. 229, Hunter Baize * 222, Collin Cabre 213, Dillon Bassett 211
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
