Regan Smith Victorious in Dover Xfinity Race

James Lawdermilk - Getty Images

DOVER, DE – RIS – Regan Smith, facing unemployment with his current team, made a pass at Lap 120 (of 200) and went on to win the NASCAR Hisense 200 Xfinity Series race at Dover International Speedway on Saturday.  Smith wants to stay with his NASCAR Xfinity Series team next year, but if he has to go, he'd gladly take a championship trophy with him.

Smith strengthened his push with the victory and moved within serious striking distance of the points lead.

"I'm trying to figure some things out for next year, so wins never hurt," Smith said. "That's never a bad thing going forward."

Smith won for the second time this season and moved within 36 points of series leader Chris Buescher with five races left in the season. He faces an uncertain future with JR Motorsports after the organization signed Elliott Sadler for next season. JRM also fields a car for defending series champion Chase Elliott and has a multi-driver car.

Crew chief Jason Burdett picked up a win -- and an impostor. The man, who was not identified but said he was a big NASCAR fan, sat at the Dover media center news conference table and answered three questions before he was shooed away by a NASCAR spokesman.

Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, in a Team Penske Mustang,  and Kyle Larson.

"You can't pass here. You know there's no outside grove to get going on anything," Busch said.

Buescher finished eighth and has a 24-point lead over Elliott.

"There's plenty of racing left and this thing is far from over," Buescher said. "If we just go out and run our race and try not to worry too much about the points, we should be in good shape."

Ty Dillon has a rough road ahead after he tumbled from second to fourth in the standings after an early wreck dropped him to 28th in the race. Dillon's No. 4 Chevrolet blew a tire and smacked the wall.

"All of a sudden I heard, `Pow!" he said.

He was out of the car before the rain hit that red flagged the race for 31 minutes. Smith took the lead off the restart and led 80 of 200 laps.

Sadler, who finished ninth, held the lead when the race was halted. Sadler lost the lead moments before rain hit and caution came to deny him a win in the 2009 Daytona 500.

"I've never had much luck with the rain," he said. "I've always been on the wrong side of that."

He's winless in 28 races this season driving a Mustang  for owner Jack Roush. Sadler has been a regular in Xfinity since 2011 and was twice runner-up in 2011 and 2012 in the championship standings.

His arrival at JR Motorsports, which has 26 career Xfinity wins, could squeeze out Smith after three seasons. Smith, who said he was "looking at every possibility," has six career wins in 197 starts and has one win in the elite Sprint Cup level.

"I guess it's not going to hurt for solidifying my job status," Smith.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stopped by the media center to congratulate Smith. Smith's future employment was a worry for another day -- he was headed out to pound some beers.

"I'm going to have a headache tomorrow. I'm not going to lie," he said.

The Xfinity drivers next race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night, October 9th.

Unofficial Results: 30th Annual Hisense 200 - Dover International Speedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, Pts, Bns, Tms, Laps, Status, Winnings
1) 8, Regan Smith, No. 7 Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet, 200, 47, 4, 1, 80, Running, $49,402
2) 7, Denny Hamlin(i), No. 20 Hisense Toyota, 200, 0, , , , Running, $35,586
3) 2, Kyle Busch(i), No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 200, 0, , 2, 110, Running, $34,950
4) 1, Ryan Blaney, No. 22 Hertz Ford, 200, 40, , , , Running, $30,183
5) 15, Kyle Larson(i), No. 42 ENEOS Chevrolet, 200, 0, , , , Running, $22,698
6) 5, Austin Dillon(i), No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, 200, 0, , , , Running, $21,077
7) 6, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 200, 37, , , , Running, $27,457
8) 3, Chris Buescher, No. 60 Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford, 200, 36, , , , Running, $28,315
9) 10, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 OneMain Financial Ford, 200, 36, 1, 1, 8, Running, $25,816
10) 13, Daniel Suarez #, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota, 200, 34, , , , Running, $27,362
11) 9, Darrell Wallace Jr. #, No. 6 Bleacher Report Ford, 199, 33, , , , Running, $25,158
12) 19, JJ Yeley, No. 28 Delaware Office of Highway Safety Toyota, 199, 33, 1, 1, 2, Running, $25,031
13) 11, Ben Rhodes, No. 88 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet, 199, 31, , , , Running, $24,931
14) 16, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford, 199, 30, , , , Running, $24,803
15) 23, Landon Cassill, No. 01 Iron Source/Meddings Seafood Chevrolet, 198, 29, , , , Running, $25,328
16) 14, Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Chevrolet, 198, 28, , , , Running, $24,652
17) 21, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 196, 27, , , , Running, $24,576
18) 22, David Starr, No. 44 Zachry Toyota, 196, 26, , , , Running, $24,526
19) 26, Mario Gosselin, No. 90 BuckedUp Chevrolet, 195, 25, , , , Running, $24,475
20) 20, Dakoda Armstrong, No. 43 WinField Ford, 195, 24, , , , Running, $24,925
21) 17, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Delaware Office of Highway Safety Chevrolet, 194, 23, , , , Running, $24,369
22) 27, Eric McClure, No. 24 Reynold's Wrap Toyota, 190, 22, , , , Running, $24,263
23) 24, Blake Koch, No. 8 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota, 187, 21, , , , Running, $24,186
24) 28, Joey Gase, No. 52 Donate Life Chevrolet, 187, 20, , , , Running, $24,111
25) 36, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Dodge, 185, 19, , , , Running, $18,210
26) 30, Ryan Ellis(i), No. 97 Vroom Brands Chevrolet, 132, 0, , , , Running, $24,009
27) 32, Harrison Rhodes #, No. 0 team jd motorsports.com Chevrolet, 126, 17, , , , Suspension, $23,959
28) 4, Ty Dillon, No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet, 115, 16, , , , Running, $23,883
29) 25, Cale Conley #, No. 14 IAVA Toyota, 103, 15, , , , Accident, $23,808
30) 34, Stanton Barrett, No. 15 Navy Ford, 100, 14, , , , Accident, $24,057
31) 12, Brian Scott, No. 2 ACME/Reser's Main St. Bistro Chevrolet, 80, 13, , , , Accident, $23,701
32) 35, Derrike Cope, No. 70 Acredale Vending Chevrolet, 79, 12, , , , Accident, $23,640
33) 38, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Chevrolet, 72, 11, , , , Suspension, $17,575
34) 33, Josh Reaume #, No. 13 Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge, 72, 10, , , , Parked, $23,540
35) 40, Timmy Hill(i), No. 17 Chevrolet, 39, 0, , , , Brakes, $17,499
36) 29, TJ Bell(i), No. 26 JGL Racing Toyota, 38, 0, , , , Suspension, $21,806
37) 18, Ross Chastain #, No. 4 Heroes Haven/Natchez Shooters Supply Chevrolet, 23, 7, , , , Accident, $20,806
38) 39, Dexter Bean, No. 92 CrashClaimsRus Chevrolet, 17, 6, , , , Suspension, $13,806
39) 37, Carl Long, No. 40 Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet, 10, 5, , , , Suspension, $12,806
40) 31, Jeff Green, No. 19 Premier Barter Exchange Toyota, 4, 4, , , , Suspension, $11,806

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series; #: Rookie
Race Comments: Regan Smith won the Hisense 200, his sixth career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory.Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 54 Mins, 07 Secs. Average Speed: 105.156 MPH
Race Length - 200 Laps - 200 Miles
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
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
Total Purse: $1,188,426

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Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2015, Issue 10, Posted 12:45 AM, 10.04.2015