MILLVILLE, N.J. – Noah Gragson edged past Dominique Van Wieringen with eight laps remaining in the JustDrive.com 125 Saturday night at New Jersey Motorsports Park to earn his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory.
The 17-year-old powered his Ford through the field after dropping from third to fifth at the halfway break. He battled his way into the top three and then to the second position. With eight laps remaining in the 55 lap feature, Gragson edged his way past Van Wieringen for the win.
Gragson and his Jefferson Pitts Racing team celebrated their first trip to victory lane in the East at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway on June 17.
This marks Gragson’s third consecutive road course victory. He won both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races last weekend at Utah Motorsports Park in the series’ first ever doubleheader on back-to-back days at the same venue.
Current K&N Pro Series East championship points leader Justin Haley finished second, while runner-up Kyle Benjamin finished third. With the Dover International Speedway finale two weeks away, Haley holds a 29-point lead over Benjamin in the championship standings.
Van Wieringen finished in fourth with Collin Cabre in fifth. Ruben Garcia, Jr., Tyler Dippel, Tyler Hughes, Austin Hill and Hunter Baize completed the top 10.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will be back in action on Sept. 30 when the series heads to Dover International Speedway to crown its 2016 champion.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, NJ
JustDrive.com 125 – Sept. 17, 2016
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 7 | Noah Gragson | SPEEDVEGAS/AlertID/Colliers Int’l Ford | 55 | 47 | 4 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 5 | Justin Haley | Braun Auto Chevrolet | 55 | 43 | 1 | Running |
| 3 | 2 | 40 | Kyle Benjamin | Ranier Racing with MDM Chevrolet | 55 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 8 | 2 | Collin Cabre | UTI/NTI Toyota | 55 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 9 | 30 | Dominique Van Wieringen * | Durobyte Ford | 55 | 41 | 2 | Running |
| 6 | 7 | 6 | Ruben Garcia Jr. * | Sunoco Toyota | 55 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 10 | 38 | Tyler Dippel * | East West Marine/TyCar Chevrolet | 55 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 15 | 8 | Tyler Hughes * | Enduring Hearts Ford | 55 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 4 | 39 | Austin Hill | ARCO Design Build Toyota | 55 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 12 | 13 | Hunter Baize * | Bicycle Playing Cards/Pine Mountain Firelogs | 55 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 6 | 42 | Enrique Baca * | ATL Fuel Cells Toyota | 55 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 11 | 1 | Spencer Davis * | Driven Toyota | 55 | 33 | 1 | Running |
| 13 | 13 | 4 | Ali Kern * | Max Siegel, Inc. Toyota | 55 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 14 | 49 | John Holleman IV * | Midway Mobile Storage Ford | 54 | 31 | 1 | Running |
| 15 | 5 | 12 | Harrison Burton * | DEX Imaging/Konica Minolta Toyota | 35 | 29 | Suspension |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Justin Haley, Time: 83.239 Seconds, Speed: 99.473 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 31 mins, 43 secs Average Speed: 82.755 mph Margin of Victory: 2.030 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 29 (Break – FP # 4). 1 for 1 laps.
Lap Leaders: Justin Haley 1, Dominique Van Wieringen * 2-5, Spencer Davis * 6-9, John Holleman IV * 10-29, Dominique Van Wieringen * 30-47, Noah Gragson 48-55.
Total Laps Led: Dominique Van Wieringen * 22, John Holleman IV * 20, Noah Gragson 8, Spencer Davis * 4, Justin Haley 1. 5 changes involving 5 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Justin Haley 539, Kyle Benjamin 510, Tyler Dippel * 438, Noah Gragson 434, Hunter Baize * 434, Collin Cabre 424, Spencer Davis * 421, Harrison Burton * 406, John Holleman IV * 400, Dominique Van Wieringen * 388
* – Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
