DOVER, Del. — Kyle Larson controlled the middle stint of Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400 at Dover Int’l Speedway, notching his fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stage win of the season and a crucial playoff point as well.
Larson charged from fourth to second on the stage’s first restart at lap 128, then laid in wait for 13 circuits before making an outside move in Turns 3 and 4 to grab the lead away from Kyle Busch.
He then led 96 of the final 100 laps in the stage en route to reaching the green-checkered flag first.
“I felt like the run prior to this last one, my balance was pretty good,” Larson said. “On this last run, I just felt like I didn’t have much grip on exit or early in the run. I started feeling looser, but it worked out okay for us.”
“I’m just trying to keep with my track bar; it’s kind of tough when you’re fighting two different things on exit and entry. Our car has been fast and overall, I’m happy with how it’s been today.”
Only one caution slowed the second stage of Sunday’s race, flying on lap 167 when Reed Sorenson lost a motor and dropped fluid on the bottom groove of the race track.
Truex won the race off pit road during the cycle of stops at lap 170, but Larson dove to the inside on the restart, cleared Truex off Turn 2 and never looked back as he pulled out to a .614 second margin by the end of the stage.
Behind Larson and Truex, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson crossed the line third through fifth, respectively.
Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer completed the points-scoring drivers in the top 10 at the stage break.
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 23-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.
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