What’s Happening?

Kyle Larson put on a show on Saturday night’s Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. After starting from the pole, the Hendrick Motorsports driver won the second stage, led 277 of the 300 laps, earned the fastest lap, and won the race at Bristol over a trio of JRM drivers. Larson’s 277 laps are the second most a driver has ever led at a single event at the racetrack, only behind Joey Logano’s 2015 run, when he led all 300 laps.

This is Larson’s 16th career Xfinity Series victory, which ties him with Jeff Green and Joe Nemechek for 21st All-Time.

Race Info

Pole Sitter: Kyle Larson #17 [15.194s]
Outside Pole: Connor Zilisch #88 [15.272s]
Drivers to the Rear: Retzlaff, Eckes, Maggio (unapproved adjustments)
DNQ: Tyler Tomassi #66
Laps: 300 Laps | 160 Miles
Stage 1: 85 Laps
Stage 2: 85 Laps
Final Stage: 130 Laps
Fuel Window: 160 Laps
Pit Road Speed: 30 MPH
Broadcast: CW Network – Justin Alexander, Jamie McMurray, Parker Kligerman
Green Flag was at 5:12 pm EST

Race Recap and Overview

First stage

The race began with complete domination from Kyle Larson, who started on the pole and led all the first 77 laps before the first caution, which we will discuss shortly. Larson had a 5-second lead over Justin Allgaier and a 10-second lead over third-place Connor Zilisch before that caution flag. Larson lapped all but 12 cars during the first stage. Despite that, the late caution split strategies, and Larson finished third after Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg stayed out for the stage points. Sam Mayer won the first stage.

The caution on lap 76, which turned into a red flag, started with contact between the 26 of Dean Thompson and Sheldon Creed on the 00. Creed spun off turn 4 and avoided contact, but Brennan Poole struck him. The crash destroyer both cars, but especially Poole’s. His suspension came off the car, and the right side was shattered. When asked if he was ok, Poole replied on the radio: “I don’t know, I don’t know. My ribs hurt.” Both drivers got out of their cars by themselves. They were interviewed afterward and were feeling alright.

“Looks like the 26 just spun the 00. I was already back in the gas by the time I heard “check up”. When I saw the 00, I started to spin out and nailed him… Just the wrong place at the wrong time.” – Brennan Poole

“I’m fine, big hit and it knocked the air out of me… The 26 was better than me in the moment … the 26 got me just enough to spin me out there.” – Sheldon Creed

Stage 1 Results:

1st. Sam Mayer #1
2nd. Ryan Sieg #39
3rd. Kyle Larson #17
4th. Sammy Smith #8
5th. Justin Allgaier #7
6th. Connor Zilisch #88
7th. Nick Sanchez #48
8th. Jesse Love #2
9th. Carson Kvapil #1
10th. Brandon Jones #20

Second Stage

Kyle Larson cycled back to the race lead after Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg pitted following the stage 1 end caution. Larson led every lap to win the second stage, lapping every driver up to 11th place. He won the stage by half a track length over Justin Allgaier.

Stage 2 Results:

1st. Kyle Larson #17
2nd. Justin Allgaier #7
3rd. Sammy Smith #8
4th. Carson Kvapil #1
5th. Connor Zilisch #88
6th. Jesse Love #2
7th. Brandon Jones #20
8th. Corey Heim #24
9th. William Sawalich #18
10th. Sam Mayer #41

Final Stage

Justin Allgaier had a better restart than Kyle Larson and took the lead away from Larson for the first time during the race, but after a few laps, Larson forced his way past Allgaier, bumping him out of the way for the lead. There was a caution for the #45 spinning on the frontstretch, but that did not affect the outcome of the race.

Larson went on to win the race by 2.054 seconds over Carson Kvapil.

Race Results

1st. Kyle Larson #17
2nd. Carson Kvapil #1
3rd. Justin Allgaier #7
4th. Sammy Smith #8
5th. Brandon Jones #20
6th. Jesse Love #2
7th. Ryan Sieg #39
8th. Corey Heim #24
9th. Christian Eckes #16
10th. Dean Thompson #26
11th. Sam Mayer #41
12th. Connor Zilisch #88
13th. Daniel Dye #10
14th. Josh Williams #11
15th. Anthony Alfredo #42
16th. Nick Sanchez #48
17th. Justin Bonsignore #18
18th. Parker Retzlaff #4
19th. Taylor Gray #54
20th. Jeremy Clements #51
21st. Jeb Burton #27
22nd. Kyle Sieg #28
23rd. Matt DiBenedetto #99
24th. Austin Hill #21
25th. Mason Massey #45
26th. Harrison Burton #15
27th. Ryan Ellis #71
28th. Thomas Annunziata #70
29th. Garrett Smithley #14
30th. Blaine Perkins #31
31st. Kris Wright #5
32nd. Greg Van Alst #35
33rd. CJ McLaughlin #91
34th. William Sawalich #18
35th. Alex Labbe #07
36th. Brennan Poole #44
37th. Sheldon Creed #00
38th. Mason Maggio #53

Race Highlights

• Kyle Larson dominates stage 1 before the first caution
• Sheldon Creed and Brennan Poole were involved in a scary crash, bringing out the first caution of the day on lap 76
• Sam Mayer wins stage 1 after split strategies
• Kyle Larson dominates and wins uneventful stage 2
• Kyle Larson wins the race from the pole, leading the most laps and setting the fastest lap.

• Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson [15.787]
• Most Laps Led: Kyle Larson [277/300]

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