Las Vegas Native Gragson Competing with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2017

Noah Gragson at 8:40 pm ET on Monday, October 10, 2016. Photo - KBM

Noah Gragson at 8:40 pm ET on Monday, October 10, 2016. Photo – KBM

Noah Gragson is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, October 10, 2016 at 8:40 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.

Last Friday, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that 18-year old Las Vegas native Noah Gragson is competing for them in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the 2017 season.

The NASCAR Next success story of Noah Gragson is a great fit with KBM as his career began on the same grounds as team owner Kyle Busch, getting his start at the age of 13 in Bandoleros at the Las Vegas Bullring – a 0.375-mile paved oval. Moving on to the Legends division in 2014, Gragson won the Young Lion Road Course champion and began racing in the Super Late Model division at the Nevada track.

In 2015, Gragson went on to the K&N Pro Series West, visiting victory lane at Tucson Speedway in just his third start. He went on to earn the Rookie of the Year honors with a two wins, one pole, seven top-five and 11 top-ten finishes in 13 starts, finishing second in the point standings.

This season, Gragson made a bold decision to compete in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West and has collected four victories, 11 top-five and 18 top-ten finishes over 26 starts. That kind of success has obviously caught the eye of fellow Las Vegas native and team owner, Kyle Busch.

“It’s been very rewarding the last few years that Samantha and I have been able to provide an opportunity for young drivers to break into the Truck Series and with Noah being from Las Vegas and getting his start in racing at the Bullring like I did, you could say this one really hits home for me,” Busch said. “He’s already proven capable of winning races while running in both the K&N Pro Series East and West, so we’re looking forward to having him behind the wheel of our Tundras next season.”

Four years ago, Gragson recalls, touring Kyle Busch Motorsports and now that he’ll be driving for the team, the inspiration he felt four years ago has come full circle with a lot of gratitude to other teams behind his journey to this point.

“It’s hard to believe that about four years ago I toured Kyle Busch Motorsports as a young fan and aspiring driver in awe of the massive trophy collection, how immaculate the shop was and getting the chance to meet Darrell Wallace Jr. — now just a short time later I’m going to be competing for them full time in the Camping World Truck Series,” Gragson said. “The last few years KBM has developed some of the best young talent in all of NASCAR and I know that I’m going to be stepping into fast Toyota Tundras that are capable of running up front, competing for wins and that if I’m able to do my part that I’ll be able to add to the trophy cases I gazed into not long ago. As an up-and-coming driver that is all I can ask for as I try to continue my climb up the racing ladder with the ultimate goal of one day following in Kyle’s path from Las Vegas to the Cup Series.

“I can’t thank everyone at Jefferson Pitts Racing enough for their hard work the past two seasons, without them I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. I also have to thank Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) for welcoming me into their racing family for the next step of my career.”

At a later date, KBM will announce Gragson’s sponsors, truck number and crew chief.

The K&N West finale is coming up on October 15th at All-American Speedway with Gragson third in the series point standings. He finished the K&N East point standings in fifth-place at Dover in September.