Larson wins OneMain Financial 200, Byron wins Dash 4 Cash at Dover
Kyle Larson won Saturday’s caution-marred One Main Financial 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Dover International Speedway.
In a dominating performance, Larson navigated 10 caution-flag periods to win his third XFINITY race of the season in just six starts and the eighth of his career.
The California native led 137 of 200 laps to win over Ryan Blaney’s Team Penske Ford and the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Daniel Suarez. Cole Custer and Ryan Reed completed the top five.
Rookie William Byron wound up sixth and took home the $100,000 XFINITY Dash 4 Cash bonus.
“Had a blast,” said Larson. “Blaney was probably as equal as me. We just got a better start there after the second stage than he did.”
For Blaney, who won in Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford at Charlotte last weekend, this was his fourth runner-up finish this season in the No. 22 Penske Ford.
“Obviously, we want to be winning races but you have to put the work in to get there,” Blaney said, noting the effort his team has made. “They’ve definitely done that. Just a little bit more is what we need.”
Larson started from the pole in his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, the top four qualifiers all being Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars. Larson led all 60 laps of the first stage of the race, barely beating Blaney to the flag by 0.041 seconds.
On Lap 87, Blaney assumed the point, the first time all race long that Larson got passed under green-flag conditions.
With five laps to go in Stage 2, Bubba Wallace dove under Blaney to take the lead, which he turned into his first stage victory of the season.
Under the subsequent caution between stages 2 and 3, 10 drivers stayed out, with Reed and Daniel eschewing pit stops and taking over the top two spots.
Once the track went green, Suarez went to the front, moving to the point on Lap 127 of the 200-lap race.
But the race was far from over. Larson pressured Suarez for several laps, finally making the pass for the lead on Lap 147.
And from there, Larson was able to hold on for the victory in a stellar performance.
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