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Larson ends 2-year winless streak with playoff win at Dover

Kyle Larson had 9 runner-up finishes in the No. 42 Chevrolet since his last win Sept. 9, 2017, in Richmond, but got the coveted playoff victory he needed at Dover.

Credit: AP

Kyle Larson stands next to the trophy after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Jason Minto)

Larson ends drought; wins at Dover

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AP

Kyle Larson stands on his car and waves to crowd after winning the NASCAR Cup Series playoff auto race Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Jason Minto)

DOVER, Del. — Kyle Larson pulled away in the final stage and won the playoff race Sunday at Dover International Speedway to snap a 75-race winless streak and earn an automatic berth in the next round.

Larson had nine runner-up finishes in the No. 42 Chevrolet since his last win Sept. 9, 2017, in Richmond, but got the coveted playoff victory he needed at Dover to keep the Chip Ganassi Racing driver in championship contention.

"I hope there's another win in our future, especially in the next round," Larson said. "We'll see what we can do. I've kept saying that I felt really close to winning here or anywhere right now. Our pit crew has been doing a better job, our team has been doing a better job. I've been doing a better job."

Larson has six career Cup victories and his first one in the playoffs. He led 154 laps late after Denny Hamlin went from dominant to dud midway through the race. Hamlin led 219 laps before fading in race where playoff drivers Chase Elliott and reigning series champion Joey Logano both fell out of contention.

Martin Truex Jr. won the spring race at Dover and didn't have enough down the stretch to catch Larson and complete the season sweep. "We just ran out of time," Truex said.

Larson did win the non-points All-Star race this year and felt like he was inching closer toward a checkered flag on the strength of a sensational late-summer run of top-10 finishes. The 27-year-old Larson escaped the first round without any serious drama and can now head to treacherous Talladega and then Kansas to end the second round without any serious concerns. He's the first driver in the field of eight.

"Everybody in this playoff field is going to be stressing next week at Talladega except for me, so that's good," Larson said. "Last time I was at Talladega I was on my lid. I could still end up on my lid next week, but it's not going to matter after this win.

NASCAR playoff drivers took the top six spots: Truex was second, followed by Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, Hamlin and Kyle Busch.