DARLINGTON, S.C. - Denny Hamlin held off Cole Custer in the final laps to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
“I was worried about a 10-lap shootout there at the end, but luckily the track position we had overcame any handling deficiencies that we had,” Hamlin said.
It marked Hamlin’s sixth Xfinity win at the fabled track. That’s second to Mark Martin’s eight wins for most Xfinity victories at Darlington.
Hamlin won despite starting at the rear with a backup car after hitting the wall in practice Friday.
MORE: Updated Xfinity Race Results
MORE: Updated Xfinity Driver Points
Custer finished second for his first top-five result in the last seven races. Tyler Reddick was third. Pole-sitter Ryan Blaney was fourth. Christopher Bell was fifth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., making his first NASCAR start this year and his first Xfinity start at Darlington since 1999, finished sixth.
Stage 1 winner: Tyler Reddick
Stage 2 winner: Ryan Blaney
Clinched Playoff spot: Noah Gragson. He joins Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Michael Annett as having clinched playoff spots. Four spots remain open.
Next: Sept. 7 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on NBCSN
#NASCAR ... @DaleJr on how much longer he can run one race a year ... pic.twitter.com/34E16TLYet
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 31, 2019