Larson Prevails and Claims Sixth-Place Finish at Dover

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In: Xfinity Series News

Following his second-career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) win last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson and his Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) team hoped winning momentum would be on their side at Dover International Speedway; however, handling issues at the 1.0-mile track led to a sixth-place finish for the No. 42 Target Ticket Chevy. During Friday’s NNS practice sessions, Larson had a fast racecar, ranking sixth and seventh fastest among the field. The 21-year-old driver and his TSM team remained consistent during qualifying and were able to place the No. 42 car in seventh place for the start of the Buckle Up 200. Shortly after the green flag waved at the Monster Mile, Larson told crew chief Scott Zipadelli that his Target Ticket Chevy was extremely loose. Worried that a tire might be going down, spotter Derek Kneeland helped Larson manage the sixth position until the first caution flag waved on lap 18. The TSM team gave the No. 42 car a quick inspection on pit road, along with four tires, fuel and a small adjustment to tighten it up. Despite losing track position, Larson restarted with four fresh tires while the majority of the field elected to take two. Larson was running just outside the top 10 when his Target Ticket Chevy got loose off of Turn 2 and made contact with the wall. Although the No. 42 car received mild damage to the right rear, Larson held his own at the world’s fastest one-mile oval and began laying down the fastest lap times on the track. During the next two cautions, Zipadelli called Larson to pit road for four new tires, fuel and additional adjustments, along with slight repairs to the right side of the car. With 20 laps to go, Larson was once again the fastest car on the track from the sixth position. Although the Target Ticket car bounced between handling issues throughout the 200-lap race, Larson was able to salvage a sixth-place finish for his TSM team during his third-career NNS start at the Monster Mile. The No. 42 TSM team continues to sit third in the NNS Owner Point Standings.

 

Kyle Larson on Racing at Dover International Speedway:

“This has been a rough weekend for my Turner Scott Motorsports team and I. These guys made a lot of changes to our Target Ticket car during practice and got me to a decent place for qualifying. We had speed all weekend, but we just couldn’t get to a good point handling-wise. I got really loose early in the race and scuffed the wall pretty hard, but somehow, my car just picked it up from there on out. I have to thank Zippy and my spotter Derek [Kneeland] for their work tonight, as well as all the guys in the pits. I hate that we couldn’t come back as strong as we would’ve liked after winning last weekend at Charlotte. I know these guys will work hard over the next week and prepare me a solid car that we can win with in Michigan.”

TSM PR

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