A costly final restart for William Byron and Ty Gibbs opened the door for Kyle Larson to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International.
MORE: Watkins Glen Xfinity race results
Larson, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, earned his 13th career Xfinity win and his first such victory on a road course.
Larson held off runner-up A.J. Allmendinger, after Byron and Gibbs spun out while racing for the lead with five laps to go.
Sammy Smith finished third, followed by Noah Gragson in fourth and Kaz Grala in fifth.
POINTS REPORT
Allmendinger is now in command of the race for the regular season championship.
MORE: Xfinity driver points after Watkins Glen
Both of Allmendinger’s main rivals, Gibbs (finished 27th) and Justin Allgaier (DNF - Crash, Lap 5), found trouble on Saturday. Leaving Watkins Glen, Allmendinger now has a 61-point lead on Gibbs and a 70-point lead on Allgaier with four races left before the playoffs.
Allmendinger has 887 points. Gibbs has 826 points. Allgaier has 817 points.
Behind them in the standings are Gragson in fourth (788 points) and Josh Berry in fifth (769 points).