For at least one race, the misfortune and mistakes that have plagued Kyle Larson’s team this season disappeared.
The result was a season-best third-place finish Monday at Dover International Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. won.
“It was good to have a clean race,” Larson told Fox Sports 1 after the race. “I don’t think we’ve had a clean weekend all year long, and we’re 11 or 12 weeks into the season. Our pit crew did a good job as well. Nice day.”
Larson had two top-10 finishes in 10 races before Dover.
After opening the season with a seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500, Larson’s fortunes changed at Atlanta the following week. He led 142 laps, but a speeding penalty dropped him to 12th.
Accidents in three of the last four races — including his tumble down the Talladega backstretch — dropped him to 21st in the points entering Dover. Monday’s result moved him to 15th in the points.
Monday, Larson had a fast car and avoided the problems that have slowed him.
Larson started third and ran in the top 10 much of the race. He finished fourth in the first stage and sixth in the second stage. This marked only the second time this season (the other at Atlanta) that Larson scored points in both stages.