Larson wins intense battle in Darlington Xfinity race, plus Sunday Cup preview
In a fitting end to a true Darlington slugfest, Kyle Larson won Saturday’s Shriners Children’s 200 after bouncing off the wall at the Turn 4 exit and knocking John Hunter Nemechek into the inside SAFER barrier 100 yards short of the finish line.
With the help of two opportune cautions, Larson recovered from a speeding penalty that sent him to the rear of the field for the start of the final stage.
Restarting behind race winner Nemechek for the final green-flag run with seven laps left, Larson stalked the No. 20 Toyota and charged into the lead on the final lap, as the top two cars made side-to-side contact on at least three occasions during the run to the checkers.
“We had a really, really good car the whole race, and I made a mistake on pit road,” said Larson, who was driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. “I knew we were going to have time to get to the front if we had a caution.
“We were picking off cars really fast and had some lane selections work out for me… We were just bouncing off each other a little bit. I don’t know what happened in (Turn) 3. It seemed like he (Nemechek) tried to get behind me to shove me into the corner.
“It kind of hooked me right, and I hit the wall, and I was trying to stay away from him and get off of (Turn) 4. What an exciting race there.”
The victory was Larson’s first of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his first at Darlington in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions. It was Larson’s 14th career Xfinity win in his only start so far this year.
Nemechek, who beat Larson in a photo finish to win Stage 2, had to settle for fifth after the last-lap crash. Justin Allgaier claimed the runner-up spot, followed by Cole Custer, who pitted for fresh tires on Lap 137 and charged forward from 16th after the final restart on Lap 141. Austin Hill was fourth in a damaged car.
“Had a really fast race car and battling with one of the best in the sport in my opinion, Kyle Larson,” said Nemechek, who led 57 laps to Larson’s 46. “It was a really great day…
“Just disappointed a little bit from the standpoint of how that ended up there. Overall, we gave it a shot and still had a shot to win off of Turn 4. Fast car, top-five to show for it, when it probably should have been Victory Lane or second.”
Larson paced the field when Sheldon Creed washed up the track and pinched Nemechek’s Toyota against the wall on Lap 67. Trying to avoid the wreck, Sam Mayer steered his Chevrolet down the track into the Camaro of Hill, who slid sideways into the path of Brandon Jones. The driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet couldn’t avoid terminal damage.
Behind Jones and Hill, the cars of Ryan Truex and Chandler Smith spun in tandem, with the crush panels cascading out of the driver’s side of Smith’s No. 16 Chevrolet.
All told, 11 cars sustained damage in the wreck, and four others merely spun and continued. Jones, Chandler Smith and Truex fell out of the race.
Unlike Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, which ran without cautions for racing incidents during the first two stages, action in the Xfinity Series event started early and ultimately resulted in 10 cautions for 51 laps.
On Lap 4, Sammy Smith spun in Turn 2 while running beneath the No. 98 Ford of Riley Herbst, causing the first caution. After the subsequent restart on Lap 8, Smith slipped sideways, making slight contact with Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet.
And on Lap 12, Herbst pancaked the right side of his Mustang against the outside wall and came to pit road for an unscheduled stop, losing two laps in the process.
Nineteen laps later, Herbst slammed the wall between Turns 1 and 2 and exited the race in last place with irreparable damage.
Jeb Burton spun on Lap 39 to cause the second caution. After pit stops, Larson won the first stage six laps later, beating pole winner Nemechek to the green/checkered flag.
The second stage contained its own share of action. Parker Retzlaff spun off Turn 4 across traffic to cause the fourth caution. Lap 60 brought two separate incidents that saw the front right quarter panels ripped off the cars of Sage Karam and Anthony Alfredo.
Seven laps later came the Talladega-sized “Big One” that destroyed the winning chances of more than a handful of contending cars.
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Race - Shriners Children’s 200
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Saturday, May 13, 2023
1. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 147.
2. (17) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 147.
3. (5) Cole Custer, Ford, 147.
4. (10) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 147.
5. (1) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 147.
6. (25) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 147.
7. (13) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 147.
8. (4) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 147.
9. (26) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 147.
10. (24) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 147.
11. (9) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, 147.
12. (15) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 147.
13. (23) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 147.
14. (19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 147.
15. (20) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 147.
16. (12) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 147.
17. (27) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 147.
18. (21) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 147.
19. (30) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 147.
20. (14) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 147.
21. (31) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 147.
22. (28) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 147.
23. (35) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 147.
24. (8) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 147.
25. (7) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 147.
26. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 147.
27. (16) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 146.
28. (34) Matt Mills(i), Ford, 146.
29. (36) Gray Gaulding, Ford, 146.
30. (29) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 146.
31. (22) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 144.
32. (37) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, Accident, 140.
33. (32) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, Accident, 74.
34. (11) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 68.
35. (2) Ryan Truex, Toyota, Accident, 68.
36. (6) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, Accident, 67.
37. (38) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, Suspension, 35.
38. (18) Riley Herbst, Ford, Accident, 29.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.924 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 11 Mins, 4 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.337 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 10 for 51 laps.
Lead Changes: 18 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Nemechek 1-6;S. Mayer 7-40;A. Hill 41;J. Clements 42;K. Larson(i) 43-57;S. Mayer 58;K. Larson(i) 59-74;J. Nemechek 75;K. Larson(i) 76-89;J. Nemechek 90-92;J. Allgaier 93;G. Gaulding 94;C. Hocevar(i) 95-97;J. Nemechek 98-127;J. Allgaier 128;P. Emerling 129;J. Nemechek 130-146;K. Larson(i) 147;A. Hill 148.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): John Hunter Nemechek 5 times for 57 laps; Kyle Larson(i) 4 times for 46 laps; Sam Mayer 2 times for 35 laps; Carson Hocevar(i) 1 time for 3 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 2 laps; Austin Hill 2 times for 2 laps; Patrick Emerling 1 time for 1 lap; Jeremy Clements 1 time for 1 lap; Gray Gaulding 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 10,20,21,00,1,19,2,9,11,25
Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,10,7,1,00,21,39,8,48,18
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Sunday's NASCAR Cup preview -- Darlington is a unique challenge for competitors
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Last weekend, Denny Hamlin became the ninth driver to score a 2023 NASCAR Cup Series victory and he shows up at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as the track’s winningest active driver.
Part of the allure of the 1.366-mile oval is the tight and challenging racing on a track like no other on the circuit. It’s tough. And a driver hasn’t earned back-to-back wins at Darlington since 2005-06 (Greg Biffle). But Hamlin’s four-win total – the last coming in 2021 – and his trophy hoist just last week would make him an easy favorite this weekend.
“It’s a tough track mentally and physically," said Hamlin, who drives the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. “It’s a driver’s track because the driver can make a difference at Darlington. You can manipulate the way your car is handling based on the line you choose to run. There’s something about it that has always matched my style of driving no matter what type of car we’re racing, so I anticipate we’ll have a really good shot at contending this weekend."
Three of the seven former Darlington winners in Sunday’s field are still looking for their first trophy of the year, including three-time Darlington winner Kevin Harvick, two-time Darlington winner Erik Jones and one-time winner Brad Keselowski.
Jones is the most recent winner at the track, taking a slight .252-second win over Hamlin in last year’s Playoff opener. He could certainly use a boost in both confidence and the standings. The driver of the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Chevrolet is currently ranked 23rd – with only a pair of top 10s through the opening 12 races of the season.
Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, has the resume to score his first win of 2023 at Darlington. He finished fourth in this race last year. The 2014 series champion – who is retiring at the end of this season - is ranked fifth in the standings, 46 points behind leader Ross Chastain and one of four ranked in the top-10 without a victory yet this season (also including Chastain, Ryan Blaney and Keselowski). He not only has the three Darlington wins but his two pole positions tie him with defending Darlington race winner Joey Logano for most among the active drivers.
Keselowski, owner-driver of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, is 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings. He and teammate Chris Buescher have both finished in the top-10 in two of the last three races (at Talladega, Ala. and Dover, Del.) and Keselowski has a season-best runner-up effort at Atlanta. The second-year owner-driver’s five top-10s is one-off his entire 2022 season in that category.
Most notable among those still racing for that first trophy of 2022 is the series championship leader, Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain. He is coming off a third-place finish at Kansas and has five top-five finishes on the year – including a runner-up at Dover, where he led 98 laps. Darlington Raceway hasn’t been among the 29-year-old Floridian’s resume highlights in the past. The driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet has only one top-10 in seven starts – a third-place finish in the 2021 Playoff race. He led 26 laps in this race last year but brought out a caution about 100 laps shy of the checkered flag.
He has the ultimate in full schedules this weekend – competing in all three NASCAR national series races.
Team Penske's Logano and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick scored top-five finishes in both 2022 Darlington races. In fact, Logano edged Reddick by a slight .775-seconds to take the victory in this Spring race last year.
The intensity of the competition is not only gaining strength atop the standings. The 16th and final Playoff position currently belongs to Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe by a slight three-point edge on 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace. Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Ty Gibbs is only seven points off Briscoe.
The hugely popular “Throwback” theme of the Darlington race weekend will include appearances by several of “NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.” Seven-time champion and inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and his son Kyle, along with Carl Edwards and five-time Darlington winner, Hall of Famer Bill Elliott will all spend time in the FOX television booth as commentators.
Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett will serve as the Honorary Pace Car driver for the race and join Grand Marshals Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch along with former NASCAR stars Ernie Irvan, Biffle, Ryan Newman and NASCAR Hall of Fame brothers Terry and Bobby Labonte in a parade Saturday afternoon through downtown Darlington.
A half hour NASCAR Cup Series practice gets under way Saturday at 10:35 a.m. followed immediately by Busch Light Pole Qualifying. Both sessions will be televised live on FS1.