Larson Snaps Winless Streak with Dover Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Larson won the Drydene 400 from Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon to snap a 75-race winless streak.

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Larson had a strong car throughout the entire weekend, and ran up front for most of the race after qualifying second.  After taking the lead following a pit stop in the final stage, Larson was able to work his way through lapped traffic on his way to victory lane.

Larson said this win was big for his team after going winless in 2018.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve won a points-paying race,” Larson said.  “We won the All-Star Race earlier this year…but we wanted to win a points race and we did it when it mattered.”

With the wild card of the Playoffs at Talladega next weekend, the victory locked Larson into the third round.

Larson said he was happy he won’t have to stress about Talladega next weekend.

“Everybody in the Playoff field is going to be stressing next week at Talladega, except for me,” Larson said.  “Last time I was at Talladega, I was on my lid…I could still end up on my lid next week but it’s not going to matter.”

Martin Truex Jr. finished second on Sunday.  Truex won Stage 2, but a pit road mistake by his crew cost him the lead to Larson. 

Truex said lapped traffic played a part in his ability to catch the leader.

“We were catching him at the end; we got close, but just unfortunate,” Truex said.  “Lost track position and just the whole third stage we were behind.”

“Good job by all the guys, good rebound by the pit crew, and just a solid day at Dover.  We had a shot at the win come up short; would have been nice to have that win and a free pass.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Alex Bowman

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kyle Busch

7. Matt DiBenedetto

8. Jimmie Johnson

9. Kurt Busch

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Paul Menard

13. William Byron

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Erik Jones

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Aric Almirola

18. Austin Dillon

19. Ryan Preece

20. Bubba Wallace

21. Daniel Hemric

22. Ryan Newman

23. Ty Dillon

24. Michael McDowell

25. Matt Tifft

26. Landon Cassill

27. David Ragan

28. Corey LaJoie

29. BJ McLeod

30. Joe Nemechek

31. Ross Chastain

32. JJ Yeley

33. Garrett Smithley

34. Joey Logano

35. Ryan Blaney

36. Chris Buescher

37. Reed Sorenson

38. Chase Elliott

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