RICHMOND, Va. — Charging past 13 cars in a five-lap span, Ty Dillon used fresh tires to his advantage to win the opening stage of Saturday night’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond Raceway.

Dillon restarted 14th for a 16-lap dash to the stage break and came forward in a hurry, passing Brad Keselowski for the lead and holding off a determined Christopher Bell to claim the green-checkered flag for the first time this season.

Kyle Busch started from the pole and paced the first 46 circuits before Brad Keselowski charged past Busch on the inside of Turns 1 and 2 on lap 47, but a caution on lap 53 slowed the pace after Bobby Dale Earnhardt lost a right front tire and pounded the outside wall in Turn 3.

Busch won the battle against Keselowski on the lap 60 restart, but it didn’t last long before Dillon came calling and darted past both of them en route to the stage win.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Christopher Bell also used fresh tires to come through the field, finishing second ahead of Richard Childress Racing teammates Brendan Gaughan and Daniel Hemric.

Keselowski and Busch were fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by Cole Custer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard and Justin Allgaier among the points-scoring drivers in the top 10.

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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