DARLINGTON, S.C. – Kyle Larson will line up seventh in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
During qualifying, Larson laid down a lap of 163.986 mph. He is driving the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro in Hendrick Motorsports’ fourth Xfinity start of the season. In the 20-minute practice session, the 30-year-old placed fifth on the 10-lap consecutive average board.
RELATED: Larson to run No. 17 Xfinity entry at Darlington
Brandon Jones earned the pole position for the 147-lap race.
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. Kevin Meendering is once again serving as the crew chief for the team.
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.
Tune in to watch Larson take on the track that is "Too Tough to Tame" on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).