Noah Gragson curses bad luck after NASCAR win snatched away

Noah Gragson’s brutal luck continued Saturday, costing the Las Vegas driver a victory in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead, Florida.

Gragson was leading by more than eight seconds and appeared to be cruising to the third win of his Xfinity career when David Starr appeared to have a tire go down directly in front of him. Starr brushed the wall, and Gragson slammed into him just two laps before the scheduled checkered flag.

After being released from the infield care center, Gragson expressed frustration during a TV interview.

“What are you going to do, you got (dumb drivers) in the way every single week,” he said after suffering similar misfortune in the first two Xfinity races of the season as well as in his Daytona 500 qualifying race. “It’s a shame we dominated the last three races, including this race, and then we’ve had stuff happen like that.”

Two weeks ago, Gragson was headed for his first Daytona 500 start when he was collected in a crash during his qualifying race.

After he crashed out Saturday, Myatt Snider claimed his first Xfinity victory in NASCAR overtime, leaving Gragson shaking his head after having another apparent victory snatched away.

“I think I’ll get a cup of Black Rifle coffee and go look at the fish in the fish tank at Bass Pro Shops,” he said, alluding to his sponsors.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.