Saturday, May 13th, 2023
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC
In a fitting end to a true Darlington slugfest, Kyle Larson won Saturday's Shriners Children's 200 after bouncing off the wall at the Turn 4 exit and knocking John Hunter Nemechek into the inside SAFER barrier 100 yards short of the finish line.
With the help of two opportune cautions, Larson recovered from a speeding penalty that sent him to the rear of the field for the start of the final stage.
Restarting behind race winner Nemechek for the final green-flag run with seven laps left, Larson stalked the No. 20 Toyota and charged into the lead on the final lap, as the top two cars made side-to-side contact on at least three occasions during the run to the checkers.
"We had a really, really good car the whole race, and I made a mistake on pit road," said Larson, who was driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. "I knew we were going to have time to get to the front if we had a caution.
"We were picking off cars really fast and had some lane selections work out for me… We were just bouncing off each other a little bit. I don't know what happened in (Turn) 3. It seemed like he (Nemechek) tried to get behind me to shove me into the corner.
"It kind of hooked me right, and I hit the wall, and I was trying to stay away from him and get off of (Turn) 4. What an exciting race there."
The victory was Larson's first of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his first at Darlington in any of NASCAR's top three divisions. It was Larson's 14th career Xfinity win in his only start so far this year.
Nemechek, who beat Larson in a photo finish to win Stage 2, had to settle for fifth after the last-lap crash. Justin Allgaier claimed the runner-up spot, followed by Cole Custer, who pitted for fresh tires on Lap 137 and charged forward from 16th after the final restart on Lap 141. Austin Hill was fourth in a damaged car.
"Had a really fast race car and battling with one of the best in the sport in my opinion, Kyle Larson," said Nemechek, who led 57 laps to Larson's 46. "It was a really great day…
"Just disappointed a little bit from the standpoint of how that ended up there. Overall, we gave it a shot and still had a shot to win off of Turn 4. Fast car, top-five to show for it, when it probably should have been Victory Lane or second."
Larson paced the field when Sheldon Creed washed up the track and pinched Nemechek's Toyota against the wall on Lap 67. Trying to avoid the wreck, Sam Mayer steered his Chevrolet down the track into the Camaro of Hill, who slid sideways into the path of Brandon Jones. The driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet couldn't avoid terminal damage.
Behind Jones and Hill, the cars of Ryan Truex and Chandler Smith spun in tandem, with the crush panels cascading out of the driver's side of Smith's No. 16 Chevrolet.
All told, 11 cars sustained damage in the wreck, and four others merely spun and continued. Jones, Chandler Smith and Truex fell out of the race.
Unlike Friday night's NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, which ran without cautions for racing incidents during the first two stages, action in the Xfinity Series event started early and ultimately resulted in 10 cautions for 51 laps.
On Lap 4, Sammy Smith spun in Turn 2 while running beneath the No. 98 Ford of Riley Herbst, causing the first caution. After the subsequent restart on Lap 8, Smith slipped sideways, making slight contact with Justin Allgaier's No. 7 Chevrolet.
And on Lap 12, Herbst pancaked the right side of his Mustang against the outside wall and came to pit road for an unscheduled stop, losing two laps in the process.
Nineteen laps later, Herbst slammed the wall between Turns 1 and 2 and exited the race in last place with irreparable damage.
Jeb Burton spun on Lap 39 to cause the second caution. After pit stops, Larson won the first stage six laps later, beating pole winner Nemechek to the green/checkered flag.
The second stage contained its own share of action. Parker Retzlaff spun off Turn 4 across traffic to cause the fourth caution. Lap 60 brought two separate incidents that saw the front right quarter panels ripped off the cars of Sage Karam and Anthony Alfredo.
Seven laps later came the Talladega-sized "Big One" that destroyed the winning chances of more than a handful of contending cars.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Ryan Truex | Mayetta, NJ | Mar 18, 1992 | 32 | Toyota | Toyota Outfitters | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff |
2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | Jun 6, 1986 | 38 | Chevrolet | BRANDT Heritage | JR Motorsports | Jim Pohlman |
3 | 10 | Kyle Larson | Sacremento, CA | Jul 31, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Hendrickcars.com | Kaulig Racing | Alex Yontz |
4 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Westport, CT | Aug 8, 1990 | 34 | Chevrolet | Big Machine Racing Spiked | Big Machine Racing | Patrick Donahue |
5 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | Grimes, IA | Aug 7, 1992 | 32 | Ford | AM Technical Solutions | AM Racing | Joe Williams |
6 | 3 | Ty Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Feb 27, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Ferris Commercial Mowers | Richard Childress Racing | Mike Wolf |
7 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Halifax, VA | Aug 6, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Capital City Towing | Jordan Anderson Racing | Shane Whitbeck |
8 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Mooresville, NC | Jun 22, 1989 | 35 | Chevrolet | BZ Mart/ForeverLawn | Alpha Prime Racing | Michael Groves |
9 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Torrence, CA | Nov 29, 1989 | 34 | Chevrolet | Keen Parts | Alpha Prime Racing | Michael Brandt |
10 | 8 | Gray Gaulding | Colonial Heights, VA | Feb 10, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Panini | SS-Green Light Racing | Jason Miller |
11 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Tucker, GA | Jun 20, 1987 | 37 | Ford | TBA | RSS Racing | Mike Scearce |
12 | 91 | Ross Chastain | Alva, FL | Dec 4, 1992 | 31 | Chevrolet | Florida Watermelon Association | DGM Racing | Mario Gosselin |
13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kannapolis, NC | Jan 27, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | Cirkul | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere |
14 | 6 | Brennan Poole | Sacramento, CA | Apr 11, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | TBA | JD Motorsports | Kase Kallenbach |
15 | 00 | Cole Custer | Ladera Ranch, CA | Jan 23, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Haas Automation | Stewart-Haas Racing | Jonathan Toney |
16 | 66 | Chad Finchum | Knoxville, TN | Sep 22, 1994 | 30 | Ford | Wild Willies | Motorsports Business Management | Jason HOUGHTALING |
17 | 4 | Garrett Smithley | Ligonier, PA | Apr 27, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Trophy Tractor | JD Motorsports | Rob Goodman |
18 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Mooresville, NC | Jun 11, 1997 | 27 | Toyota | Pye Barker Fire & Safety | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore |
19 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Boston, MA | Dec 29, 1998 | 25 | Toyota | Fire Department Coffee | Sam Hunt Racing | Allen Hart |
20 | 21 | Austin Hill | Winston, GA | Apr 21, 1994 | 30 | Chevrolet | Bennett Transportation | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street |
21 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Atlanta, GA | Feb 18, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Menards / Cheez-It | JR Motorsports | Jason Burdett |
22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartanburg, SC | Jan 16, 1985 | 39 | Chevrolet | First Pacific Funding | Jeremy Clements Racing | Mark Setzer |
23 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr | Mahwah, NJ | Jul 12, 1998 | 26 | Ford | TBA | RSS Racing | Steve Addington |
24 | 92 | Josh Williams | Port Charlotte, FL | Aug 3, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Call 811 / Alloy Employer | DGM Racing | Bryan Berry |
25 | 53 | Matt Mills | Lynchburg, VA | Nov 14, 1996 | 27 | Ford | J.F. Electric | Emerling Gase Motorsports | Wayne Carroll Jr |
26 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Las Vegas, NV | Feb 24, 1999 | 25 | Ford | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing | Richard Boswell |
27 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Ridgefield, CT | Mar 1, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | Dude Wipes | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Pat Tryson |
28 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Orchard Park, NY | Sep 19, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | TBA | Emerling Gase Motorsports | Paul Clapprood |
29 | 7 | Stefan Parsons | Cornelius, NC | Jun 15, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | OLLIE's | SS-Green Light Racing | Mark Hillman |
30 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Alpine, CA | Sep 30, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Whelen | Richard Childress Racing | Jeff Stankiewicz |
31 | 8 | Josh Berry | Hendersonville, TN | Oct 22, 1990 | 33 | Chevrolet | Tire Pros Love The Drive | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer |
32 | 02 | Blaine Perkins | Bakersfield, CA | Feb 28, 2000 | 24 | Chevrolet | our motorsports | Our Motorsports | Dan Stillman |
33 | 128 | Kyle Sieg | Tucker, GA | Apr 16, 2001 | 23 | Ford | Cedar Ridge Landscaping | RSS Racing | Brad Parrott |
34 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Franklin, WI | Jun 26, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | Accelerate Pros Talent | JR Motorsports | Mardy Lindley |
35 | 74 | Dawson Cram | San Diego, CA | Sep 12, 2001 | 23 | Chevrolet | Magnum Contracting Inc | CHK Racing | Ryan Bell |
36 | 44 | Sage Karam | Nazareth, PA | Mar 5, 1995 | 29 | Chevrolet | CRC | Alpha Prime Racing | Frank Kerr |
37 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Talking Rock, GA | Jun 26, 2002 | 22 | Chevrolet | Quick Tie Products, Inc. | Kaulig Racing | Bruce Schlicker |
38 | 177 | Carson Hocevar | Portage, MI | Jan 28, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | Premier Security | Spire Motorsports | Bono Manion |
39 | 24 | Corey Heim | Marietta, GA | Jul 5, 2002 | 22 | Toyota | GearWrench | Sam Hunt Racing | Kris Bowen |
40 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Rhinelander, WI | May 21, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | FUNKAWAY | Jordan Anderson Racing | Joshua Graham |
41 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Johnston, IA | Jun 4, 2004 | 20 | Toyota | Pilot Flying J | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering |