Getty Mark Martin speaks during the 2017 Hall of Fame ceremony.
Noah Gragson tied NASCAR legend Sam Ard by winning four consecutive Xfinity Series races. Now a Hall of Famer has issued some major praise for the JR Motorsports driver.
“That’s historic,” Martin said during the September 30 episode of the “Mark, Mamba, and the Mayer” podcast. “When you think about Sam Ard, you think about, you know, royalty. Xfinity — or Busch Grand National Series — Late Model Sportsman Series royalty. I mean, the guy, he was just incredible.
“And to tie that record, we don’t realize today what Noah has just done. I mean, we just don’t realize it because it just happened. And it’s been a long time since Sam set that record. But it’s a pretty incredible feat.”
Gragson, who has a career-high seven wins in 2022, kicked off this four-race winning streak at Darlington Raceway. It continued with a rain-shortened win at Kansas Speedway and a win in the regular-season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway. Gragson then kicked off the playoffs with a win at Texas Motor Speedway, which punched his ticket to the Round of Eight.
Gragson Has Created Conversations in 2022
GettyNoah Gragson tied Elliott Sadler with his Dash 4 Cash win.
The Las Vegas native has created conversations throughout the 2022 Xfinity Series season for reasons both good and bad. They started with Gragson posting four consecutive top-three finishes with a new crew chief, a run that included a win at Phoenix Raceway.
The conversations continued with Gragson’s Cup Series readiness, him intentionally wrecking Sage Karam at Road America, and his tendency to throw up after winning Xfinity Series races.
Gragson has a vocal fanbase, as well as vocal critics. He is a driver that hasn’t shied away from showing his personality on live TV with his interviews and his half-zipped firesuit, something for which Martin has expressed appreciation.
“I want to comment a little bit on Noah,” Martin continued. “Because I’m really… I am not a super fan of Noah. However, I want to say it is so good for our sport to have somebody who has as much personality as Noah has. And to be able to have him showcase that by winning all these races, winning four in a row, that’s fantastic.”
Gragson Can Make History at Talladega Superspeedway
GettyNoah Gragson has 7 wins during the 2022 season.
Gragson’s focus remains on adding more trophies and playoff points to his collection, but he also has the opportunity to make history during the race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
If Gragson wins the Sparks 300 on October 1, he will become the first driver in the history of the Xfinity Series to win five consecutive races. He will break his tie with Ard and set a new mark for other drivers to chase.
It is possible that Gragson will achieve this feat. He has two superspeedway wins in his Xfinity Series career. This includes the 2020 season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
Gragson also won the spring 2022 race at Talladega Superspeedway after leading the final three laps and holding off Jeffrey Earnhardt and AJ Allmendinger. He crossed the finish line first and capped off a day where JR Motorsports drivers swept all three stages.