Larson faded to sixth after tagging the wall on the last lap, and admitted after the race that he was basically “a sitting duck.”
“I didn’t get a great take off (on the last restart) and Joey got around me sucking on my door,” the Elk Grove, California driver explained. “Denny gave me a huge shot and I was surprised about how much grip I had actually. It’s just pretty hard to beat four tires when you’re running (with) almost 40 laps on your tires.”
The race saw 21 lead changes among 10 different drivers, but five cautions in the first 71 laps punctuated (and slowed) the early pace. The biggest incident came on lap 25, when fluid from Ray Black Jr.’s Chevrolet sent Hamlin’s JGR teammates Jones and Daniel Suarez spinning in turns three and four.
Jones pancaked the right side of his car into the outside wall, while Suarez spun up into the wall exiting turn four and was hit by Elliott Sadler, who had no place to go. Suarez rallied from a lap down to finish 12th, while Jones never regained the lead lap, failing to finish and being credited with 31st after his crash with two laps to go.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series returns to action on Saturday, June 4 with the Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The event will be the series’ inaugural appearance at the 2.5-mile triangular facility.
Audio with race winner Denny Hamlin:
Audio with runner-up Austin Dillon:
Audio with fourth-place Cole Custer:
Audio with fifth-place Justin Allgaier:
RESULTS: NASCAR XFINITY Series; Hisense 4K TV 300; Charlotte Motor Speedway; May 28, 2016
- Denny Hamlin
- Austin Dillon
- Joey Logano
- Cole Custer
- Justin Allgaier
- Kyle Larson
- Brandon Jones
- Ty Dillon
- Brennan Poole
- Brendan Gaughan
- Jeb Burton
- Daniel Suarez
- Ryan Sieg
- Blake Koch
- Garrett Smithley
- Ryan Blaney
- Ross Chastain
- Drew Herring
- Ryan Reed
- Jeremy Clements
- Dakoda Armstrong
- Ryan Preece
- J.J. Yeley
- Harrison Rhodes
- B.J. McLeod
- Martin Roy
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Elliott Sadler
- Spencer Gallagher
- Carl Long
- Erik Jones
- Derrike Cope
- Timmy Hill
- Jeff Green
- Mike Harmon
- Joey Gase
- Ray Black Jr.
- Cody Ware
- Josh Wise
- Matt DiBenedetto
Lead Changes: 21 between 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders: Jones (1-13, 16); Hamlin (14-15, 18-49, 61-97, 117-120, 204); Green (17); Larson (50-54, 98-111, 148-165, 195-202); Wallace Jr. (55-59); Chastain (60); Blaney (112-113); Custer (114); Suarez (115-116); Logano (121-147, 160, 166-194, 203).
Laps Led: Hamlin (76); Logano (58); Larson (46); E.Jones (14); Wallace Jr. (5); Blaney (2); Suarez (2); Green (1); Chastain (1); Custer (1).
Caution Flags: Eight for 54 laps.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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