As the NASCAR XFINITY Series moves closer to the end of the season, XFINITY teams headed to Dover International Speedway for the second and final time this season. As a result of near constant rain on Friday, the weekend schedule was condensed to just Saturday’s Hisense 200 race, with the starting order set based on owner points. Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 42 ENEOS Chevrolet Camaro for the first time in two weeks, started the 200-lap race in 15th and finished in fifth place after a strong run.
With Saturday being the first time on track, Larson and the team began the race not knowing exactly what to expect from the ENEOS Camaro. Although Larson started the race with a car that handled loose, he steadily gained spots on the field as the crew continued to make adjustments during the first half of the race. Just past the midway point, light rain would force the red-flag to be displayed briefly to dry the track. Following the restart, Larson would continue to fight a loose-handling car, but managed to hold his fifth-place position while conserving fuel as the race stayed green for the final 32 laps. The fifth-place finish is Larson’s third top-five of the year in 11 XFINITY Series starts.
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Results (with starting position) from the Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway
1. (8) No. 7 Smith, Chevrolet Camaro
2. (7) No. 20 Hamlin, Toyota
3. (2) No. 54 Busch, Toyota
5. (15) No. 42 Larson, ENEOS Chevrolet Camaro
NOTES OF INTEREST:
• The finish is Larson’s second best at Dover in the XFINITY Series
• Larson ran the entire race in the top-15
• The race was red-flagged briefly just past the halfway point for rain
• The caution flag was shown four times for a total of 29 laps
• The lead changed five times among four drivers
HSMCG QUOTE BOARD
Kyle Larson – No. ENEOS Chevrolet Camaro – “Hats off to all the guys at the track and the shop for putting a great car on the track today. We didn’t have any practice this weekend to shake down the car, and we still had a really strong ENEOS Chevy for the race. I was loose for a lot of the race, but we slowly worked to get the handling better throughout the day. After running out of fuel a couple times in Chicago, I didn’t want that to happen again on that last long green-flag run. We played a good strategy at the end and I was able to save enough to hang on for the fifth-place finish. We’ve run well here, so nice to have another solid finish at Dover.”
NEXT RACE
Brennan Poole returns to the seat of the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet Camaro as the NASCAR XFINITY Series moves to Charlotte Motor Speedway next week. Catch practice next Thursday, Oct. 8 at 3:00 p.m. EDT and 5:30 p.m. EDT. Qualifying will take place on Friday, Oct.9 at 4:45 p.m. EDT, on NBC Sports Network. The Drive for the Cure 300 will take place Oct. 9, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. NBC Sports Network, Sirius/XM NASCAR Channel 90 and PRN affiliated radio stations will have live coverage of the event.