CONCORD, N.C. – The No. 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series entry will ride again for Hendrick Motorsports.
Kyle Larson will drive the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro in Saturday’s race at Darlington Raceway. It was announced in April that Larson would pilot the No. 88 for JR Motorsports (JRM) in this race, but instead the No. 17 will make its fourth start of the season. Kevin Meendering will serve as the crew chief for the effort.
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The Elk Grove, California, native drove the No. 17 entry at Road America in July - the first of the three originally announced races. He scored the pole position and finished second. Alex Bowman drove the Camaro at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in July to a runner-up position. William Byron took his turn at Watkins Glen International in August and won the pole position. He was in contention late in the race before late-race contact derailed his bid for a victory.
Larson will look to add to the organization’s total of 26 wins in the series. Tony Stewart earned the last win-to-date for the team in 2009 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 17 car number for the Xfinity races carries special significance to the Hendrick Motorsports family as it was the number that the late Ricky Hendrick drove over two seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from 2000 to 2001. The paint scheme is based on the truck he drove those seasons, including in his win at Kansas Speedway.
In his most recent Xfinity Series start, Larson won behind the wheel of the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen. He has 13 wins in the Xfinity Series. In four career Xfinity Series starts at Darlington, the 30-year-old driver has one top-five finish and four top-10s.
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Tune in to watch Larson take on the track that is "Too Tough to Tame" on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).