Noah Gragson

The JR Motorsports prospect is one of the fastest rising drivers in the Xfinity Series. Season two in this division of NASCAR saw Gragson claim his first two-career victories (Daytona & Bristol) and nab a staggering 17 Top-5 finishes. He would make it into the championship round of the Chase and avail himself well in that one-race winner-take-all event. Gragson would finish second to Austin Cindric and pull up just short of the Xfinity Series title. He'll get another crack at the crown in 2021. Gragson will once again pilot the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet and work with crew chief Dave Elenz to claim that coveted title. Now that Gragson has shown the ability to win races, he becomes a serious threat to contend for the championship and raise his stock for an eventual venture into NASCAR's Cup Series.

The 21-year-old prospect had a good inaugural season with JRM and racing in the Xfinity Series. Although Gragson didn't find victory lane, he found a pretty good consistency that showed up on the track and in the finishes each week. He piloted the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet Camaro to nine Top-5 and 22 Top-10 finishes and wound up eighth in the overall driver standings. It would result in Gragson finishing eighth overall in the championship standings. It was a good rookie campaign, and one to build on for Gragson. It is expected that all parts of this team will return intact for the 2020 season. Dave Elenz will continue to call the shots from the crew chief position, and continue building a rapport with Gragson. This young driver has a lot of upside and more room to grow than most of the drivers in the top tier of these rankings.

The up-and-coming Gragson moves from full-time competition in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series and into the Xfinity Series in 2019. He has been brought in to replace the retired Elliott Sadler in the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet. Gragson has some big shoes to fill there as Sadler nabbed three victories and 78 Top-10 finishes over his last three seasons of racing in the JRM No. 9 machine. This has been a Top-5 team for each of the last three years. Gragson will be challenged to hit those levels in season one. He's a two-time truck series winner, and finished runner-up in the final standings of that racing series last year. The 20-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada still has much to learn behind the wheel, and this will be a season of progression and learning.

Gragson returns for season two at Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 18 Toyota. He tore the series up in his 2017 rookie campaign that saw the 19-year-old win his first-career victory and collect 13 Top 10's. With the promotion of Christopher Bell, Gragson now carries the banner as the point man for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He'll be paired with crew chief Rudy Fugle, and the duo will set their sights on winning more races and challenging for the championship. Given the change in the talent pool and the obvious excellence of this driver and team, it's all on them to step up and win right away as the top team for manufacturer Toyota. Gragson should take some big steps in the upcoming season, and become the next big prospect driver to come out of the KBM camp, like Erik Jones and Bell.

The next up-and-coming prodigy for KBM and Toyota is Gragson. He'll take over the No. 18 Toyota Tundra this season. Gragson replaces the now-departed William Byron as this stable's new budding star. This young driver has been tearing up the K&N Pro Series East and West the last two years. With a combined six victories and 32 Top-10 finishes in just 42 starts, Gragson has been opening eyes at this level of NASCAR. The 18-year-old Las Vegas native also sneaked in a couple truck series starts last year for KBM in this truck, so he's not completely unfamiliar with these chassis. Gragson will face a sharp learning curve, but it appears he'll be a quick study. Teaming him with crew chief Marcus Richmond should yield pretty good results. Gragson will be a top contender for Rookie of the Year in the truck series.