Larson Destroys Field in XFINITY Race at Vegas

Kyle Larson won the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s Larson’s ninth win in the XFINITY Series, and his first at Las Vegas. Larson won stage two and led 137 laps en route to the victory.

Pole winner Christopher Bell started alongside Kyle Larson, and Larson jumped to an early lead as the field spread out behind him. On lap six, Dylan Lupton spun and smacked the end of the inside wall after getting into Ryan Sieg. Lupton was okay, but frustrated as he exited his torn up No. 28 Ford Mustang. On the restart, Larson was able to take the lead over Bell once again. About halfway through stage one, Bell and Larson traded the lead a couple of times, and Larson prevailed. The two battled once again at the end of the stage, and Bell was able to grab the valuable playoff point and become the first series regular to win a stage in 2018. Unfortunately, Bell’s pit stop dropped him to sixth place after his jackman slipped on the concrete pit stall.

Larson jumped to the lead early, fellow Cup regular Ryan Blaney now trailing. Larson would stride away from the field to an easy victory in stage two.

Larson lost the lead to Ryan Blaney on pit stops, and Blaney held the lead on the restart. With just over 70 laps left, though, Larson was able to close in on and pass Blaney back, and quickly pulled away. A few laps later, Austin Cindric got into Tommy Joe Martins, sending him into the inside wall, ending his day. During the caution, Larson fell to eighth because of a slow pit stop, and Cole Custer jumped to the lead.

Custer was able to lead a couple of laps, but Justin Allgaier quickly ended that as he took away the lead for the first time all day. Just as the field passed 50 laps to go, Kyle Larson drove past Justin Allgaier and set sail. As the race’s final run continued, drivers and crews realized they couldn’t make it on fuel, and the strategy began. When Ryan Reed hit the wall, though, the caution came out and crew chiefs everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. As they pitted for tires and fuel, Tyler Reddick jumped from fourth to first.

Unfortunately for the rookie, he was put three-wide by Ryan Blaney on the outside. Ross Chastain got turned later that lap, sending Chastain careening sideways and bringing out the caution once again.

Kyle Larson led on the next restart, and Bell trailed him, looking to capture his second career XFINITY Series win in just his tenth start. Larson, though, was able to hold on and win.

Here are the full results from the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

1. Kyle Larson
2. Christopher Bell
3. Justin Allgaier
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Elliott Sadler
6. Daniel Hemric
7. Brandon Jones
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Cole Custer
10. Spencer Gallagher
11. Matt Tifft
12. Austin Dillon
13. Michael Annett
14. Kyle Busch
15. Ryan Truex
16. Kaz Grala
17. Alex Labbe
18. Ross Chastain
19. Ryan Reed
20. Joey Gase
21. Josh Williams
22. Jeremy Clements
23. Garrett Smithley
24. Vinnie Miller
25. Tommy Joe Martins
26. BJ Mcloed
27. Matt Mills
28. Josh Bilicki
29. Ryan Sieg (Engine)
30. Stephen Leicht
31. Mike Harmon
32. Chad Finchum (Suspension)
33. Timmy Hill (Power Steering)
34. Austin Cindric (Accident)
35. David Starr (Engine)
36. Spencer Boyd (Suspension)
37. Morgan Shepherd (Oil leak)
38. JJ Yeley (Vibration)
39. Jeff Green (Brakes)
40. Dylan Lupton (Crash)