DOVER, Del. — Darrell Wallace Jr. led the final five laps in the second stage of Saturday’s OneMain Financial 200 to garner his first NASCAR XFINITY Series stage win of the season.
Wallace used a bump-and-run maneuver to pass friend and Ford stablemate Ryan Blaney in Turns 1 and 2 on the stage’s final restart, running away to a haul of 10 bonus points and the first playoff point for his No. 6 team.
“It’s a good day for us; we’re definitely making the most of it,” said Wallace. “I am really really proud of this car and we’re having some fun. I’ve just gotta keep the emotions in check and get the checkered flag.”
Three cautions slowed the pace in Stage 2, starting with the stalled machine of Spencer Gallagher on lap 76 and continuing on lap 92 when Harrison Rhodes’ JD Motorsports entry blew up going down the backstretch.
On the next restart at lap 100, defending race winner Erik Jones’ quest for a second Dover win ended with the first blown motor of his career, eventually seeing a caution come out with eight laps to go in the stage thanks to the oil pump belt from Jones’ No. 20 Toyota.
That paved the way for Wallace’s stage-winning move, while Blaney finished second after taking the lead from Kyle Larson on lap 88 in the first green-flag pass of the day.
Elliott Sadler was third, and along with Wallace, was the fourth-and-final qualifier for the Dash 4 Cash, joining Stage 1 transfers William Byron and Brennan Poole.
Justin Allgaier and Larson completed the top five, ahead of Byron, Daniel Hemric, Poole, Blake Koch and J.J. Yeley.
After being two laps down at the end of Stage 1, Daniel Suarez rallied his way back onto the lead lap in 16th and stayed out to join Ryan Reed on the front row as the leaders pitted during 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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