CP MOTORSPORTS - SMITH GRABS IMPORTANT XFINITY WIN DESPITE RAIN
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Nothing was going to deny Regan Smith from going to victory lane in Saturday's Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway.
Not the rain. Not a cut left rear tire which forced him all the way back to 23rd at one point in the rain. And certainly not a furious charge from winner circle regulars Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin late.
The win for Smith, who wound up leading a total of 80 laps, is the second of the season for the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. It also revives his championship hopes, which even Smith thought were gone following a bad run at Watkins Glen earlier this season.
Despite an uncertain future with the team, Smith is appreciative of the equipment which he drives.
"JR Motorsports gives us fast racecars," Smith said. "We've worked really hard this year to get the speed to where we want it to be. We started off with it early, lost it in the middle part and now I feel like we're really starting to get it back."
JR Motorsports announced the signing of Elliott Sadler and OneMain Financial to the team's stable of Chevrolet which has led to Smith's future with the team coming into question. Smith admits he's trying to prove himself and add to his resume.
"I'm trying to figure out some things for next year and wins never hurt, that's for sure," Smith said.
Hamlin's charge would fall short and force him to settle for the runner up position. Kyle Busch, who led 110 laps - a race high, could not recreate his early race speed following a 30 minute red flag for rain and finished in third place.
Busch's summarization of how the race played out was simple.
"Track position's everything," Busch said. "We were opposite of Denny (Hamlin), we got loose. We couldn't pass anybody."
Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
Smith's win put him in third in the Xfinity series championship race just 36 points behind leader Chris Buescher, who finished in the eighth spot. Buescher still clings to a 24 point advantage over defending Xfinity champion Chase Elliott with only five races to go in the season.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Number 28
Unofficial Race Results for the 30Th Annual Hisense 200 - Saturday, October 3, 2015
Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE - 1 Mile Concrete
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200 Miles - Purse: $1,188,426
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 8 7 Regan Smith Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet 200 47 4 129.0 $49,402 Running 1 80
2 7 20 Denny Hamlin(i) Hisense Toyota 200 0 124.6 $35,586 Running
3 2 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota 200 0 140.1 $34,950 Running 2 110
4 1 22 Ryan Blaney Hertz Ford 200 40 116.5 $30,183 Running
5 15 42 Kyle Larson(i) ENEOS Chevrolet 200 0 104.8 $22,698 Running
6 5 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 200 0 99.3 $21,077 Running
7 6 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 200 37 109.3 $27,457 Running
8 3 60 Chris Buescher Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 200 36 101.5 $28,315 Running
9 10 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Ford 200 36 1 97.1 $25,816 Running 1 8
10 13 18 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota 200 34 91.2 $27,362 Running
11 9 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. # Bleacher Report Ford 199 33 86.8 $25,158 Running
12 19 28 JJ Yeley Delaware Office of Highway Safety Toyota 199 33 1 81.1 $25,031 Running 1 2
13 11 88 Ben Rhodes Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 199 31 85.7 $24,931 Running
14 16 16 Ryan Reed Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 199 30 77.3 $24,803 Running
15 23 01 Landon Cassill Iron Source/Meddings Seafood Chevrolet 198 29 70.8 $25,328 Running
16 14 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 198 28 80.8 $24,652 Running
17 21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 196 27 79.9 $24,576 Running
18 22 44 David Starr Zachry Toyota 196 26 62.8 $24,526 Running
19 26 90 Mario Gosselin BuckedUp Chevrolet 195 25 60.7 $24,475 Running
20 20 43 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Ford 195 24 59.8 $24,925 Running
21 17 51 Jeremy Clements Delaware Office of Highway Safety Chevrolet 194 23 69.4 $24,369 Running
22 27 24 Eric McClure Reynold's Wrap Toyota 190 22 54.3 $24,263 Running
23 24 8 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota 187 21 67.9 $24,186 Running
24 28 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Chevrolet 187 20 50.8 $24,111 Running
25 36 74 Mike Harmon Dodge 185 19 43.8 $18,210 Running
26 30 97 Ryan Ellis(i) Vroom Brands Chevrolet 132 0 50.8 $24,009 Running
27 32 0 Harrison Rhodes # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 126 17 38.3 $23,959 Suspension
28 4 3 Ty Dillon Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet 115 16 60.5 $23,883 Running
29 25 14 Cale Conley # IAVA Toyota 103 15 61.2 $23,808 Accident
30 34 15 Stanton Barrett Navy SealsVsZombies.com Ford 100 14 46.3 $24,057 Accident
31 12 2 Brian Scott ACME/Reser's Main St. Bistro Chevrolet 80 13 59.0 $23,701 Accident
32 35 70 Derrike Cope Acredale Vending Chevrolet 79 12 37.5 $23,640 Accident
33 38 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 72 11 33.7 $17,575 Suspension
34 33 13 Josh Reaume # Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge 72 10 31.9 $23,540 Parked
35 40 17 Timmy Hill(i) Chevrolet 39 0 32.7 $17,499 Brakes
36 29 26 TJ Bell(i) JGL Racing Toyota 38 0 39.0 $21,806 Suspension
37 18 4 Ross Chastain # Heroes Haven/Natchez Shooters Supply Chevrolet 23 7 44.2 $20,806 Accident
38 39 92 Dexter Bean CrashClaimsR.us Chevrolet 17 6 28.2 $13,806 Suspension
39 37 40 Carl Long Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet 10 5 28.7 $12,806 Suspension
40 31 19 Jeff Green Premier Barter Exchange Toyota 4 4 27.0 $11,806 Suspension
Race Comments: Regan Smith won the Hisense 200, his sixth career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory.
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 54 Mins, 07 Secs. Average Speed: 105.156 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.703 Seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 29 laps: Laps: 16-20 (#88 accident frontstretch [24]); 25-32 (#4, 43 accident turn 1 [88]); 67-70 (Competition [01]); 107-118 (#14, 15 accident backstretch [Red Flag: Lap 115, 30:55] [01]).
Lead Changes: 5 among 4 drivers: 0; K. Busch(i) 1-29; J. Yeley 30-31; K. Busch(i) 32-112; E. Sadler 113-120; R. Smith 121-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) C. Buescher 1,018;(2) C. Elliott 994;(3) R. Smith 982;(4) T. Dillon 979;(5) E. Sadler 908;(6) D. Wallace Jr. # 907;(7) D. Suarez # 886;(8) B. Scott 870;(9) B. Gaughan 864;(10) R. Reed 765.
3M Lap Leader : Kyle Busch, #54 110 Laps Coors Light Pole Award : Not awarded, #
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" : Kyle Busch, #54 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Joe Gibbs Racing Engines, #54
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Chris Buescher, #60 Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Daniel Suarez, #18
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Oct. 9, 2015 - Charlotte Motor Speedway
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