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Elliott Sadler got a much sought after victory at iconic Darlington Raceway Saturday when he held off Denny Hamlin in the Xfinity Series.

After earning the win, he dedicated it to the owner of his team, sidelined Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“This win today is for my man, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Sadler said. “I know he’s going through a tough time. He’s not being able to race his race car for the rest of the year. He was riding there with me today, and he’s given me such a great opportunity to be a part of his race team.”

The victory was Sadler’s first at Darlington in 32 starts across all three of NASCAR’s national series. He won for the second time in the Xfinity Series year. It was 12th career win in the series.

Making only his second start of the season in the series, Hamlin was frustrated in his attempt to win at Darlington for the fifth time.

“We definitely had a good line going through (Turns) 1 and 2,” Hamlin said, “But I didn’t get a good restart (on Lap 112, after the last of three cautions), he got position on me, and track position meant so much. Once he ran the high line, my car was entirely too tight to run low.

“It eliminated our passing opportunity unless we could slide-job him there in Turn 3 on that one lap he messed up, but it didn’t happen.”

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NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200

Darlington Raceway

Darlington, South Carolina

Saturday, September 03, 2016

1. (3) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 147.
2. (2) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 147.
3. (5) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 147.
4. (13) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 147.
5. (11) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 147.
6. (10) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 147.
7. (4) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 147.
8. (19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 147.
9. (12) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 147.
10. (22) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 147.
11. (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 147.
12. (8) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 147.
13. (15) Ryan Reed, Ford, 147.
14. (21) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 147.
15. (17) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 147.
16. (9) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 146.
17. (14) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Ford, 145.
18. (18) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 145.
19. (16) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 145.
20. (1) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 145.
21. (24) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, 145.
22. (23) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 144.
23. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, 143.
24. (27) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 142.
25. (34) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 141.
26. (25) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 140.
27. (31) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 139.
28. (29) Todd Peck, Ford, 138.
29. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 102.
30. (30) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 74.
31. (33) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Accident, 66.
32. (32) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Accident, 60.
33. (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, Transmission, 51.
34. (37) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Suspension, 45.
35. (6) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 33.
36. (35) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Accident, 28.
37. (26) BJ McLeod #, Ford, Accident, 20.
38. (39) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, Electrical, 5.
39. (40) John Jackson, Chevrolet, Transmission, 4.
40. (38) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Rear Gear, 3.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  128.719 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 33 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.454 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  3 for 17 laps.

Lead Changes:  8 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   P. Menard(i) 1-6; E. Sadler 7-24; R. Black Jr. # 25-26; E. Sadler 27-47; D. Hamlin(i) 48-90; K. Larson(i) 91-102; R. Blaney(i) 103-107; D. Hamlin(i) 108-111; E. Sadler 112-147.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  E. Sadler 3 times for 75 laps; D. Hamlin(i) 2 times for 47 laps; K. Larson(i) 1 time for 12 laps; P. Menard(i) 1 time for 6 laps; R. Blaney(i) 1 time for 5 laps; R. Black Jr. # 1 time for 2 laps.

Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler – 815; D. Suarez – 761; J. Allgaier – 750; T. Dillon – 742; B. Gaughan – 732; E. Jones # – 713; B. Poole # – 705; B. Jones # – 684; D. Wallace, Jr. – 630; R. Reed – 596.

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