By: Ashley McCubbin

After running up front all night long, Noah Gragson was in victory lane at the end of the night – though not without contact in the process.

After a late restart in the Cheddar’s 300, he found himself running second to Justin Allgaier, with the No. 7 Camaro having shown more speed over the past couple runs. Though going through turns one and two, his teammate get loose after slightly missing the grip strip. This allowed Gragson to close the gap entering the opposite end of the track, getting underneath him for position.

While side-by-side, the No. 9 Camaro got loose, getting up into Allgaier. Gragson drove off with the lead, while Allgaier got in the outside wall slightly, before spinning across the track into the inside barrier.

“I don’t make excuses; I take responsibility, so I apologize to the 7 car,” Gragson said afterwards. “But I’m here to win races for the No. 9 team. They put too much effort in. I’ve always been a real aggressive driver, and I’m really fortunate to be able to race in the Xfinity Series.”

Since the beginning of his NASCAR career, his aggressive notion behind the wheel has been recognized by fans and fellow drivers alike, with some not being fans of his style.

“I can’t drive back to pit road and finish second and say that I didn’t try,” he commented. ‘I’m going to try, win or draw. It’s probably not the best thing, but you can’t say at the end of the day that I didn’t try.”

Sometimes, it has gotten him into trouble, as seen with a late-race spin last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway after getting loose on a restart. He also found himself in hot water with Myatt Snider at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and caught up in an incident at Auto Club Speedway.

There has also been past incidents with teammates, with a pair of incidents standing out in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoor Truck Series while racing for Kyle Busch. The second of those saw him take out both himself and Todd Gilliland while battling for the lead on the last lap at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, handling the victory to Justin Haley.

However, other times, it has shined through, as seen with his aggressiveness to stay up front at Daytona International Speedway producing a victory. His statistics this year back up his ability, with four top-five’s in seven races. It backs up his solid rookie campaign in 2019 with 22 top-10’s in 33 events, en route to placing eighth in the series standings. He also proved his talent in the Truck Series, coming up two spots short at the checkered flag of winning the championship in 2018.

While admitting that he doesn’t like causing incidents, he isn’t set to back down behind the wheel.

“I am an aggressive racecar driver and when you’re battling for wins, shit happens,” he said. “Fortunate to be in this position, but like I said, I don’t mean to wreck teammates. I leave it all out on the track and it is what it is.”

For Gragson, it’s all about focusing on doing the best that he can for himself and his team, hence putting in a lot of work currently behind the scenes with Josh Wise training and his crew chief Dave Elenz preparing.

“I had the opportunity and i don’t know how many races we have left, but an opportunity can slip away so I want to take damn advantage of it,” he commented. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I take full responsibility for it. I got loose underneath him – that’s a fact.”

Gragson went on to admit having tremendous respect for his teammate, but no regrets. Instead, he cited the mistake made by the No. 7 prior in saying, “Don’t slip up the lap before and I don’t get to you, and you drive off to victory. ”

That being said, Gragson knows his teammate isn’t happy and a conversation will need to take place later. The pair briefly crossed paths post-race, with Allgaier saying they will talk later. As for whether there will be further re-precautions, including possible retaliation, Gragson is unsure what the future holds.

“If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,” he said. “All I can do is be on the same page as of my team and just try to drive that thing balls to the wall and hung out sideways and try to go fast. It’s really the only thing I can do is to try and win races. It is what it is, whatever happens.

“If you’re a man and you throw a punch, you better be able to take a punch. You can’t change what’s going to happen in the future but just try to do my best. If I do my best, then I can’t do any better.”