CUP: Noah Gragson’s lead-lap run at Kansas spoiled by blown engine
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Dominic Aragon, The Racing Experts, @DominicAragon @TheRacnExperts
Noah Gragson picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway when his #4 Long John Silver’s Ford lost the engine after he completed 112 of 267 laps.
The finish, which came in Gragson’s 141st series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since July 13, 2025 at Sears Point, 46 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 47th for the #4, the 730th from the engine, and the 776th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 80th for the #4, the 1,107th for Ford, and the 1,171st from an engine.
Just over a month ago on August 14th came news that Gragson had signed a contract extension with Front Row Motorsports to return as their third Cup Series driver in 2027. This finally afforded Gragson some stability, having already jumped from Kaulig Racing to Legacy Motor Club and Stewart-Haas Racing in his first few full-time seasons. Last year, He’d struggled in his first season with Front Row, failing to finish eight races and ranking a distant 34th in points. He’s since improved to 31st in 2026, cutting down his DNFs by two and earning a surprising 10th at Loudon in August. Just last week at Bristol, he stayed out of trouble and finished a respectable 16th.
Gragson was among the 36 Chartered entries who were the only occupants of the Cup garage at Kansas. He was supposed to be the 14th driver to take time in qualifying, but rain cancelled both practice and time trials. This secured Gragson the 21st starting spot for Sunday.
The 36th and final starting spot fell to Ty Dillon in the #10 Sea Best Chevrolet. With no drivers incurring tail-end penalties, he remained on the outside of the final row. When the green flag dropped, Dillon got a quicker start and pulled ahead of 35th-place starter Cody Ware in the #51 Rocket Doctor Chevrolet. At the line, Dillon was already in 35th, showing 2.878 seconds back of the lead to Ware’s 2.976. Entering Turn 1, Dillon briefly got held up behind Riley Herbst’s #35 Monster Energy Toyota before the two got in line, each pulling away from Ware. Ware then caught Alex Bowman, whose #48 Ally Chevrolet lost ground entering Turn 3, who along with Dillon in the high lane blocked the track for Ware. At the stripe, Ware was 3.047 seconds back of the lead.
Ahead of Ware at the start of Lap 2, the two-wide battle briefly became three-wide as Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. dropped to the middle lane in his #47 Brazier Lumber Company Chevrolet entering Turn 1. Stenhouse then locked into Bowman’s draft, pulling them ahead of Dillon, back to 35th ahead of Ware. The logjam then intensified on Lap 3, where entering Turn 3, the cars of Bowman, Stenhouse, and Dillon had reeled in Cole Custer’s #41 Haas / Andy’s Chevrolet and Austin Hill’s #33 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet. This kept Ware in last place, 6.377 seconds back of the lead by Lap 4.
On Lap 7, Ware was 9.305 seconds behind and a half-second back of 35th-place Stenhouse with 34th-place Custer just ahead. By Lap 8, Ware was losing touch with the field, now nearly a second back of Stenhouse. That same time by, Stenhouse caught and cleared Connor Zilisch in the #88 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, putting Zilisch into the 35th spot after he rolled off in 27th. On Lap 10, Ware had closed within seven-tenths of Zilisch, but both cars now trailed the rest of the field by open track. Further ahead, Chase contender Tyler Reddick was plummeting down the order in his #45 Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota. After rolling off 15th, he fell to 32nd on Lap 13, then 33rd on Lap 14 and 34th on Lap 16.
Meanwhile, Ware reported he was loose on the opening run, dropping him 2.5 seconds back of 35th-place Zilisch by Lap 18. On Lap 21, Ware reported he was chattering the front tires, then on Lap 24 was getting tight. At the start of Lap 26, Ware was 31.295 seconds back of the lead, allowing race leader Kyle Larson to catch and pass him in the high lane off Turn 2, putting him the first car one lap down. According to Ware’s spotter, Larson was “playing nice” with 35th-place Zilisch, not trying to put the #88 a lap down before the competition caution fell on Lap 35. This worked to Ware’s favor as he was the only driver one lap down, getting him his lap back. Ware passed the pace car under caution on Lap 37, just before the leaders came in. The last spot thus fell to A.J. Allmendinger on Lap 38, which came after the first of at least two lengthy stops for his #16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet. Ware briefly climbed to 34th before his own stop for a significant air pressure adjustment, one that was nearly done incorrectly before the crew quickly caught and fixed the mistake. On Lap 39, Ross Chastain briefly shut off his engine during a long stop along with Allmendinger, putting Chastain’s #1 Kubota Chevrolet in last place. Ware then retook the spot on Lap 40, though on Lap 41, Ware got a better restart than Chastain, briefly putting Chastain in last for a second time until Chastain made it by, then rooted his way through the middle lane in heavy traffic. By Lap 42, Chastain was up to 32nd and Ware was 3.559 seconds back of the lead in last place.
During this run, the battle for 35th renewed between Ware and Zilisch, but this time Ware was right on his rear bumper. Ware said his adjustments had helped, but he was still tight in traffic. By Lap 51, he’d fallen a half-second back of Zilisch, then 1.5 seconds on Lap 60, and on Lap 64 was again in danger of losing a lap to the leaders, clocking in at 29.189 seconds back of Larson. On Lap 67, Larson pulled to Ware’s outside off Turn 2 and put him a lap down for the second time in the race. At the time, there were still 13 laps to go in Stage 1, so Larson wasn’t “playing nice” with Zilisch. He put Zilisch a lap down on Lap 73, followed by Stenhouse on Lap 79 after Stenhouse glanced off the outside wall in Turn 4. The Stage 1 caution then fell on Lap 81, giving Stenhouse his lap back along with time to make repairs.
Back under green, it was once again Ware versus Zilisch for both the 35th spot and the Lucky Dog. And once again, Ware was right on Zilisch’s rear bumper, constantly making moves to his inside and trying to pass, only for Zilisch to get a better drive off the corner to keep the spot. Once again, Larson was catching them, and this time on Lap 111, Larson got to Ware’s outside at corner exit, then weaved under Zilisch, putting both a second lap down. Seconds later, the caution fell for a massive plume of smoke entering Turn 1.
Only now, on Lap 114, did Gragson enter the last-place battle. In fact, Gragson was running on the lead lap in 19th, and had just fallen to 20th entering the corner when white smoke poured from his exhaust pipes, causing his car to slide sideways onto the apron. Under the ensuing caution, Gragson rolled to a stop midway down the backstretch. “Good car, just – shitty,” said Gragson on the radio. “Good effort, though, guys – lots of positives today.” The team also told Gragson he had a good run going, and did a good job not wrecking the car when the engine let go. He took last place from Ware on Lap 116, then was towed to the garage on Lap 117. The tow truck used the entrance just after William Byron’s pit stall, Stall No. 38. It was then dropped off perpendicular to Garage Stall No. 37 near the team’s hauler. The onboard camera shut off on Lap 121, and NASCAR declared him out of the race on Lap 152.
Gragson ended up the only DNF of the race. Taking the 35th spot was Josh Berry, whose #21 Menards / Dutch Boy Ford was damaged during a multi-car wreck on the Lap 122 restart following Gragson’s caution, the result of Brad Keselowski’s #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford giving a bump to Carson Hocevar’s #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet. Berry finished a full ten laps down while Hocevar finished three down in 33rd, having also bounced off the wall off Turn 2 during the late stages. Completing the Bottom Five were both Ware, who finished 34th, and Stenhouse, who was the last car one lap down in 32nd.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the third consecutive even year that the #4 finished last in the fall Cup race at Kansas. Josh Berry crashed on the opening lap on September 29, 2024, and Kevin Harvick wrecked after 33 laps on September 11, 2022.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #4-Noah Gragson / 112 laps / engine
35) #21-Josh Berry / 257 laps / running
34) #51-Cody Ware / 262 laps / running
33) #77-Carosn Hocevar / 264 laps / running
32) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 266 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Trackhouse Racing (6)
2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing (4)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports (3)
4th) 23XI Racing, Garage 66, Kaulig Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, RFK Racing (2)
5th) Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (15)
2nd) Ford (8)
3rd) Toyota (5)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
