Written by Adrian Beecher
Bristol, TN – After a dominant Kyle Busch hit the wall to end his day while in the lead on lap 71, Kyle Larson in the No. 42 stole the show away, winning all three stages to capture the Food City 300 victory at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday Night.
After dominating the first two stages after Busch’s exit, Larson found himself with his hands full midway through the final stage as Christopher Bell in the No. 20 gave it everything he had.
With only 50 laps to go, Bell was right up on the bumper with Larson taking the high line and bell trying to take the inside. Then they switched with Larson going low and Bell going high with neither driver giving an inch.
Then with only 40 laps to go, the caution flag came out as Josh Williams in the No. 90 cut a tire and was slowed on the track, causing the No. 40 of Chad Finchum to slam the brakes to avoid contact. This sent Finchum hard into the inside wall on the backstretch.
The caution would send the leaders down pit road. Larson remained the leader off pit road and Chase Elliott in the No. 23 came out in 2nd with Bell in third as the field got back to green on lap 266.
On the restart, Larson jumped out to a five car lead, with Justin Allgaier in the No. 7 following suit in 2nd. This would set up a dominate final 30 lap run from Larson to be able to capture the win. All the while, Allgaier, Elliott, and Bell battled for 2nd. However, with just two laps to go, Daniel Hemric, blew a tire and took a spin on the backstretch sending the race into NASCAR overtime.
On the restart, It was Larson on the high line, Allgaier on the low side, Bell Behind Larson, and Joey Logano in the No. 22 on the Low behind Allgaier. Larson got the jump, but Allgaier hun tough until turn four, when Larson pulled away on the final lap to seal the win.
It marks the fourth Xfinity win of the season for Larson, in only six races this season. Additionally its Larson’s first win at Bristol after three runner-up finishes.
