Twenty-four races into the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and fifty since his last win, Noah Gragson finally broke his dry spell on Saturday when he won the Sport Clips/VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway. It is his third career win and first at the track.
Pole sitter Daniel Hemric would run strong in the first two stages and won the first. However, his abysmal luck once again bit him in the rear when he spun on the final lap of the second stage which allowed Gragson to win that segment. Gragson had finished second to Hemric in Stage #1. The top ten in Stage #1 consisted of Hemric, Gragson, A.J. Allmendinger, last week’s winner Justin Haley, Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Brandon Jones, Myatt Snider, and Justin Allgaier. The second stage’s top fnishers were Gragson, Hamlin, Cindric, Allgaier, Hemric, Allmendinger, Burton, Austin Dillon, Haley, and Snider.
The final stage was marked by drama beginning with Riley Herbst slamming into Tommy Joe Martins‘ car which had been slowing down due to an engine failure. On the ensuing restart, Hamlin and Timmy Hill comprised the front row; the latter had stayed out but his transmission got stuck between gears, causing him to fall back and stack up the field.
Hemric spun again as a debris caution came out with four laps remaining to spark overtime. Prior to the restart, Hamlin was slapped with a penalty for having equipment over the wall too soon, ending his hopes of winning for the sixth time at Darlington. Gragson, who had been leading when the yellow arrived, held off Burton and Cindric to take the victory.
“It’s been way too long,” said Gragson. “A lot of frustration this year, and things haven’t gone our way, but we’re getting some momentum when we need to, and I just can’t thank everybody enough on this #9 team.”
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 8 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 2 | 6 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 152 | Running |
| 3 | 24 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 152 | Running |
| 4 | 3 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 5 | 5 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 6 | 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 7 | 28 | 23 | Tyler Reddick* | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 8 | 15 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 9 | 9 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 10 | 22 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 11 | 12 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 152 | Running |
| 12 | 14 | 54 | Denny Hamlin* | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 152 | Running |
| 13 | 10 | 02 | Ty Dillon | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 14 | 19 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 15 | 16 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 16 | 17 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 17 | 31 | 26 | Colin Garrett | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 152 | Running |
| 18 | 26 | 17 | Mason Massey | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 19 | 32 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 20 | 2 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 21 | 20 | 48 | Jade Buford | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 22 | 39 | 90 | B.J. McLeod* | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 23 | 33 | 5 | Matt Mills | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 24 | 1 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 152 | Running |
| 25 | 27 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 26 | 21 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 27 | 30 | 15 | Colby Howard | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 152 | Running |
| 28 | 23 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 151 | Running |
| 29 | 35 | 31 | Austin Dillon* | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 151 | Running |
| 30 | 18 | 61 | David Starr | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 151 | Running |
| 31 | 38 | 74 | Carson Ware | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 151 | Running |
| 32 | 34 | 78 | Jesse Little | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | Running |
| 33 | 25 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 146 | Running |
| 34 | 37 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 134 | Running |
| 35 | 36 | 99 | Ryan Ellis | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Ford | 133 | Running |
| 36 | 29 | 66 | Timmy Hill* | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 116 | Accident |
| 37 | 13 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet | 108 | Accident |
| 38 | 7 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 107 | Accident |
| 39 | 11 | 8 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 45 | Brakes |
| 40 | 40 | 52 | Gray Gaulding | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 2 | Electrical |
* – Ineligible for Xfinity points