Race Weekend Central

Noah Gragson Secures Pole in Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky in First Race of Xfinity Doubleheader

The NASCAR Xfinity Series goes to the Bluegrass State for a doubleheader on Thursday and Friday (July 9-10). JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson is on the pole for Thursday’s Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky Speedway.

Gragson hopes to win his third race of the season at the 1.5-mile track. He finished sixth in last year’s event.

Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain drew the second position and will start next to Gragson. Jeb Burton, driving the No. 8 car for JRM, starts third, while Michael Annett is fourth. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton rounds out the top five qualifiers.

Fellow JGR driver Brandon Jones begins sixth, and last week’s winner at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, Chase Briscoe, starts seventh. Ryan Sieg is eighth, Justin Haley starts ninth and Justin Allgaier completes the top 10 positions.

The lineup was randomly drawn in groups of 12 based on owner points. The results from Thursday’s race will determine Friday’s starting lineup; the top 15 finishers will invert in the order, while 16-40 will keep their starting positions.

Xfinity Starting Lineup for Shady Rays 200

The Shady Rays 200 is set to get underway on Thursday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on Fox Sports 1.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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