Kyle Larson delivered what could best be defined as a dominant performance on Saturday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway, winning the SciAps 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
Driving the No. 17 Chevrolet Xfinity car for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson led for 277 of the 300 laps, securing his second Xfinity Series victory at Bristol and the 16th of his career.
This win followed his second-place finish in the Truck Series race on Friday and preceded his third-place starting position for Sunday’s Cup Series Food City 500.
“Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for their incredible work,” Larson commented after his post-race celebration. “This was another really fast car. I really enjoy racing here, especially in the Xfinity Series with all the traffic. I was hoping for a win last night, and I’m looking forward to a strong run tomorrow.”
JR Motorsports drivers claimed the next three positions, with rookie Carson Kvapil in the No. 88 Chevrolet finishing second, 2.054 seconds behind Larson.
“We kept making the car better with each pit stop,” Kvapil noted. “The heavy traffic made it challenging to make progress.”
Justin Allgaier, the defending Xfinity Series champion, finished third and earned the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the seventh time in his career. Sammy Smith took fourth place, and Brandon Jones finished fifth.
“The Xfinity Series does a great job for the sport,” Allgaier said. “While I’m a bit disappointed with third, it felt like we needed a little more to keep pace with Kyle. His ability to navigate traffic was impressive.”
Earlier on Saturday, Larson also secured the pole position with a qualifying lap speed of 126.287 mph.
The race was stopped in a red flag situation with nine laps remaining in the first stage due to a significant frontstretch collision involving Dash 4 Cash contenders Brennan Poole and Sheldon Creed. Creed spun and stalled in the middle of the track when Poole, who was slowing down, could not avoid contact.
“That impact took my breath away for a moment,” said Creed, who ultimately finished 37th. “I’m thankful to be okay. Everything happens so quickly here.”
For Poole, it was a situation that he could do little to control his racecar.
“I was in the top lane and already accelerating,” Poole added, finishing one spot ahead in 36th. “I started to slow down and then saw [Creed] in the middle of the track. It’s a shame that two Dash 4 Cash cars were involved.”
Larson completed the 300-lap race at the .533-mile concrete oval in 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 45 seconds.
This marked the 82nd Xfinity Series race at “The Last Great Colosseum.”
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