Kyle Larson won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway after making contact with John Hunter Nemechek during a last lap thrill for the win.
Larson and Nemechek raced door to door on the final lap. Nemechek nearly lost control of his car on the backstretch but was able to get back to Larson’s bumper in the final turn. Larson would make contact with the wall and bounced back collecting Nemechek as the checkered flag waved.
Nemechek would finish fifth.
“I thought it was good hard racing for sure,” Larson told Fox Sports post-race. “I was nervous about what would happen in 3. I’m trying to stay right to him so I could arc and drive in as hard as I could. That got us both out of shape. It was a lot of fun.”
For Larson, Saturday’s win marked his 14th Xfinity Series victory and his first career win at Darlington.
Nemechek called the last lap contact with Larson “good hard racing.”
“I’m smiling ear-to-ear internally let’s put it for the hard racing we had today, how him and I raced each other. I’m disappointed with a fifth place finish with the car we had today and not being in victory lane. I’ll let that disappointment drive me and hopefully go win some more races,” Nemechek told Fox Sports post-race.
Rounding out the top five were Justin Allgaier in second, Cole Custer in third, Austin Hill in fourth and John Hunter Nemechek in fifth.
Rounding out the top ten were Carson Hocevar in sixth, Josh Berry in seventh, Sam Mayer in eighth, Kaz Grala in ninth and Corey Heim in tenth.
Sam Mayer, who finished eighth led 34 of the first 40 laps of the race before John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Larson would hold command of the top spots.
Notable drivers who didn’t finish the race due to being involved in a on-track accident on Lap 67 included Brandon Jones, Chandler Smith and Ryan Truex.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 27th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson
Stage 2 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek
Race Winner: Kyle Larson
About Me: Hi, my name is Matthew I'm 17 from Charlotte, NC. Racing has been something that has interested me my whole life. As a kid my dad would always take me to each of the Charlotte races and the adrenaline you get watching NASCAR's best drivers go around is one like no other. My goal as a writer is to give you the best information possible.
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