Noah Gragson couldn’t bring home a second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, but his No. 9 JR Motorsports team did leave Atlanta Motor Speedway with 100,000 other reasons to celebrate.

Gragson slotted in second after another strong run to bring home the first Dash 4 Cash bonus of 2020, beating out fellow contenders Harrison Burton (fifth), Brandon Jones (eighth) and Chase Briscoe (ninth).

“It’s an incredible opportunity what Xfinity is doing with the Dash 4 Cash program,” Gragson said after the race. “It’s quite the privilege and the honor to be able to compete for the $100,000”

Gragson spent the majority of the race running inside of the top-10, overcoming an early pit road penalty and holding onto his No. 9 Chevrolet as it slid around the abrasive 1.5-mile oval. He led early on after drawing the pole, but faded behind the leaders in the race’s middle stages.

That caused Gragson to fly under the radar for a large section of Saturday’s race. But when the pivotal run came he emerged as a legitimate contender.

Briscoe and Justin Allgaier led in Stage 3, but were each penalized when they were found to be speeding on the final round of pit stops. That allowed Gragson to move to the front of the field, rising to second behind Allmendinger after the final restart.

Gragson rose to within a second of Allmendinger a handful of times over the final run, but each time he did the 38-year-old found a way to extend his lead. The Nevadan felt he’d fallen for Allmendinger’s tricks after the race.

“I ate AJ’s bait there at the end,” Gragson said. “He started saving his tires and I thought he burned his tires up. Just got beat by his experience. He’s a phenomenal driver and a great competitor in the series.

“It was a lot of fun racing with him. Just burnt my stuff up when I thought he burnt his stuff up, so I started making a charge there with about 15-20 to go. Burnt my tires up and he just drove away.”

While he had to settle for second at race’s end, Gragson earned a financial bonus and opportunity to compete in the Dash 4 Cash again next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway by winning the opening round of the incentive program.

Others eligible include Allmendinger, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric. Allmendinger will start at the tail end of the field after missing the first, non-Dash 4 Cash race at Homestead on Saturday.

When the opportunity arises, Gragson will try to deny his competitors and win the bonus again. The Chevrolet prospect isn’t sure what’s next for him after this year, so he understands the need to make the most of each opportunity he receives.

“I’m fighting for a job right now,” Gragson said. “Don’t really know what I’m going to do next year. All I can do is focus on today. All I can do is focus on this race team and on myself to be better. It’s a cut-throat sport.

Cindric’s failed strategy

Austin Cindric couldn’t be touched in the opening two stages of Saturday’s race, but a strategy decision from Team Penske meant he also couldn’t see the lead in the final run to the finish.

Cindric found himself in a similar position to race winner AJ Allmendinger going into the EchoPark 250, looking for oval success after reaching his career highs on road courses. The Team Penske prospect had nearly rose to the top of the field one week prior at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but lost the lead to Kyle Busch in the final set of turns before settling for third.

A crash just eight laps into the race made Cindric and afterthought days later at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the young star made his presence known early at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He quickly rose from eighth to take the lead from pole sitter Noah Gragson on Lap 6. Cindric then began to pull away, leading until a spinning Tommy Joe Martins brought the race’s first caution flag on Lap 17.

Moments later Cindric came to pit road for fresh tires, making a move that would come to burn his No. 22 team later in the race.

With only five sets of tires available to teams on the day, many stayed out during the opening yellow. Cindric’s decision to pit put him on an opposite strategy to the other leaders, allowing the young prospect to storm through the field and claim a Stage 1 win by nine seconds.

Cindric continued to lead through Stage 2, sweeping the opening stages and showing potential race-winning pace. He lost the lead to Chase Briscoe in the final stage, but still rode in second with enough speed to contend if the final runs played out to plan.

But along the way Cindric’s end result remained at risk, with one less set of tires than those around him. He pitted for his final fresh set early in Stage 3, and found himself at need of a lengthy green-flag run to the finish if the hoped to stay up front.

For a while things worked out to Cindric’s advantage, but the top-five ultimately wasn’t meant to be. A caution came out on Lap 125 when Vinnie Miller spun in Turn 2. That brought the field to pit road for their final set of new rubber.

Cindric’s team had no fresh tires remaining, so he took on scuffs instead. Adding insult to injury, Cindric also got caught speeding on pit road, sending him to the tail end of the field.

That was the end of Cindric’s time in the spotlight. He struggled through the final 37-lap run, slotting in 16th at race’s end.

It wasn’t the result that Cindric wanted, but it followed a run he could be proud of.

“We’ve got a lot to be proud of on the 22 team,” Cindric said. “Our bed was made on the competition caution, when no one else came down pit road, and we were down a set of tires. I think we capitalized on both of our stage wins, but unfortunately couldn’t convert that race winning speed into a win.

“It stings a bit, but I’m proud of our work on preparation and unload, as I know that’s been key for our momentum since the break.”