NASCAR at Darlington live updates: Noah Gragson wins overtime Xfinity race

The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway is complete. The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 finished in thrilling fashion with a late caution and a first win of the 2021 season for Noah Gragson, who fended off Harrison Burton at the checkered flag.

Gragson was leading when NASCAR threw a final yellow for debris to force an overtime restart. Drivers who previously led the race dropped from the front of the pack in the final laps, but Gragson held his lead. He chose the inside lane for the next restart, lining up next to Austin Cindric on the outside, then shot off the line to pull ahead.

Burton drove up to second and was on his bumper, but he wasn’t able to pass Gragon’s No. 9 Chevrolet before the final flag waved. The JR Motorsports winner was quick to thank his team, sponsors and the screaming fans on his way to Victory Lane.

“It has been way too long,” Gragson told NBCSN after climbing the fence with his crew members. “First thing I want to say is thank you to all you bad ass race fans. Every single one of you guys, I appreciate all the support, not only for myself but for the entire Xfinity Series.”

Full-time Cup driver Denny Hamlin led a race-high 43 laps, but Hamlin was penalized for his team sending equipment over the wall too soon during a late pit stop. Hamlin led the race when a caution came out for a spin by Brandon Jones with 10 laps to go in the originally-planned 147 lap event. The penalty sent Hamlin to the back, and in a matter of laps after the restart, late-race contenders A.J. Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric were also out of the running.

Stage 1 winner Hemric went spinning in Turn 1 and Allmendinger slowed with apparent damage. Gragson, who won the second stage, looked like he had the strongest car of those remaining up front. Burton was able to pass Cindric after the restart, but finished 0.2 seconds behind the winner.

“I was trying to do Texas Part II with Noah,” Burton said. “And try to get him on the last corner, and just fell short. Hats off to them. They’ve been fast here all year really.”

Without the unforeseen issues like those that have thwarted Gragson all year the No. 9 team cruised to a playoff spot, and Gragson earned his third win of 93 races in the series. The driver recently inked a deal to continue as the driver for JR Motorsports in 2022. He called the victory “rewarding” given his recent contract news and earlier struggles to win this year.

“Days like today reassure you to keep on pushing,” Gragson said post-race.

A.J. Allmendinger leads Austin Cindric by one point for the Xfinity regular season championship with two races to go before playoffs. The next Xfinity race is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Richmond Raceway.

NASCAR’s Truck and Cup Series race tomorrow back at Darlington. (Trucks at 1:30 p.m. and Cup at 6 p.m.)

Check back tomorrow for live updates from the track. All times are Eastern.

NASCAR Xfinity race results

Final Stage

5:53 p.m., Lap 152: Noah Gragson wins at Darlington, fending off Harrison Burton in the final overtime laps. This is Gragson’s first victory of the 2021 season. Burton finishes second. Austin Cindric finishes third. Justin Haley and Jeb Burton round out the top five.

Gragson climbs out of his car then climbs the fence with his team, appealing to the screaming crowd.

“It has been way too long,” Gragson says on NBCSN. “First thing I want to say is thank you to all you bad ass race fans ... I appreciate all the support.”

5:52 p.m., Lap 149: The race briefly goes green before a caution comes back out for debris. During the green flag, Daniel Hemric spun and A.J. Allmendinger slowed with an apparent tire issue to set him back.

Noah Gragson will line up out front in the inside with Austin Cindric on the outside for the overtime restart.

5:38 p.m., Lap 137: Brandon Jones spins, bringing out a caution and Denny Hamlin is not happy, especially since he gets a penalty for equipment over the wall too soon. He drops to the back, and his chances to win are shot.

5:33 p.m., Lap 133: Second place driver Noah Gragson is gaining on leader Denny Hamlin. His lead is down to less than a second. Justin Allgaier and Harrison Burton race closely for the third place spot.

5:28 p.m., Lap 124: Noah Gragson moves outside of A.J. Allmendinger for second place as Denny Hamlin continues to lead. Then, Allmendinger gets passed by Harrison Burton and Justin Allgaier in a matter of laps and says he has no rear grip.

5:23 p.m., Lap 117: Denny Hamlin leads the field, lining up on the inside with Noah Gragson behind him. During the restart, Timmy Hill stayed out to lead in the outside line, but his car doesn’t fire off at the green flag! Daniel Hemric, behind him, checks up and hits Hill. Hemric drops to ninth.

5:17 p.m., Lap 111: The caution is out after Riley Herbst’s car goes for a spin in Turn 3, then catches on fire. Herbst exits his car and appears OK, but the car is totaled. The team blows it down with a fire extinguisher and takes it to the garage. The replay shows Herbst slamming into the back of Tommy Joe Martins’ car after Martins slows. Liquid splashed onto Herbst’s windshield and, with the impaired visibility, he couldn’t see the car in front of him.

5:08 p.m., Lap 97: Noah Gragson starts on the inside lane up front, but A.J. Allmendinger has a strong restart and jumps up to first, passing two cars in a row. Denny Hamlin races in second place as Gragson drops to third.

Stage 2

4:56 p.m., Lap 90: The stage closes in thrilling fashion with Noah Gragson snagging the green-and-white checkered flag. Behind him, the field goes three-wide as teams battle up front for the the third place spot coming to the line! A.J. Allmendinger drops back along the wall. Austin Cindric finishes in third behind Denny Hamlin. Then the order is Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley and Myatt Snider.

“Big picture perspective, that was great driving for all involved,” Cindric says on the radio. “You don’t see three-wide at Darlington too often.”

4:48, Lap 71: Noah Gragson makes his pass for first as A.J. Allmendinger drops back. “Keep being disciplined,” is the message to Daniel Hemric further back in fourth. Gragson is seeking his first win of the season. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is making moves in the top 10, sliding by Justin Allgaier then Justin Haley in a row to get into sixth.

4:44 p.m., Lap 64: A.J. Allmendinger leads Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley. Drivers up front are trying different lines to make their pass, with a few poking low.

4:39 p.m., Lap 60: The caution is out after JGR teammates Brandon Jones and Daniel Hemric have contact, sending Jones for a spin. Hemric moves up as Jones moves down the track through the repaved area. Hemric still runs in fourth as Jones drops to 37th.

4:33 p.m., Lap 53: A.J. Allmendinger takes the lead from his Kaulig teammate after the race goes green. Justin Haley runs in second place.

4:27 p.m., Lap 49: Denny Hamlin contacts David Starr on pit road as Starr pulls into his pit stall. The team looks at Hamlin’s car for right front damage and determines it’ll be OK. He’s in 12th for the restart. Justin Haley lines up in the inside up front and gets the early lead.

Stage 1

4:20 p.m., Lap 45: Denny Hamlin held a lead of more than two seconds just before the stage finish but he goes for a big spin before it’s over! So Daniel Hemric, who drove back from an earlier engine issue, wins the stage just before the flag! The finishing order for the stage finish is Hemric, Noah Gragson, A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Haley, Hamlin, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Myatt Snider.

4:11 p.m., Lap 26: Justin Allgaier gets the jump in the restart, choosing the outside lane. Noah Gragson, in second, rides along the wall but Denny Hamlin is stalking him in third and looking to move low.

4:14 p.m., Lap 32: Noah Gragson uses the outside lane off turn 4 to clear Justin Allgaier for the race lead. Denny Hamlin also passes Allgaier for second, but a few laps later, Hamlin moves by Gragson, who reports a break issue.

4:04 p.m., Lap 20: The competition caution is out with Justin Allgaier in the lead followed by Noah Gragson, Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Haley and Harrison Burton up front. Leaders stay out under the caution, so that will be the order for the next restart.

4 p.m., Lap 14: The caution flag comes out for Carson Ware and previous leader Daniel Hemric pits for an apparent engine issue after giving up the lead to Justin Allgaier. Hemric had debris on the grille that slowed him before, but with the long pit stop, he drops to 38th.

3:50 p.m.: Green flag! Sam Mayer slaps the wall early in Turn 2 going two-wide in the repaved area. The team reports that there’s no smoke, but that Mayer hit the wall hard.

Pre-race

3:40 p.m.: Engines are fired at Darlington! JGR’s Daniel Hemric is rolling off first. Teams are commenting on the “patch” of newly paved track in Turn 2, with Jeb Burton’s radio calling it “sketchy.”

3:36 p.m.: The anthem and pre-race ceremonies are complete. NASCAR announces that Gray Gaulding will join Ty Dillon in dropping to the rear today for missing the drivers meeting. Dillon was slated to drop to the rear, as of today, due to a driver change.

3:09 p.m.: Driver intros are underway under bright and almost cloudless sky. Entered in today’s lineup are full-time Cup drivers Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon, who will race in tomorrow’s Cup event at the track.

Drivers are on the grid and discussing the repave in Turn 2, which was completed ahead of today’s race and will present different grip levels as the track wears in.

Pre-race lineup changes

Prior to Saturday’s race, JR Motorsports announces that team engineer Allen Hart will fill in as crew chief for Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet team. Crew chief Jason Burdett will miss the event due to NASCAR’s COVID-19 protocols, the team said.

Additionally, NASCAR announces a driver change for the No. 02 team. Ty Dillon will substitute for driver Brett Moffitt, as Moffitt is out due to “medical reasons,” Frontstretch first reported. Moffitt was slated to start 10th.

There were no issues during pre-race inspection, so Dillon so far will be the only driver dropping to the rear for the start of the race. Daniel Hemric is starting on the pole with A.J. Allmendinger in the front row.

How to watch NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington

• Race: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
• When: Saturday, Sept. 4
• Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
• TV: NBCSN
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps) with stages ending on laps 45, 90 and 147

NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington lineup

* driver change (substitute for Brett Moffitt)

This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 3:08 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription