Sometimes when a driver finds his niche in design of track, and how to run it, there’s no doubt they enjoy coming there every chance they can. But, when it comes to the D-Shaped ovals that are at California and Michigan, Kyle Larson has found his wheelhouse.
Namely because he can make that Target car work low when necessary, or as is often the case at these tracks, he’s running right against the wall.
At the same time, he also knows he isn’t always going to be the fastest guy on the track.
This certainly was the case on Sunday because he wasn’t the guy to lead the most laps. Instead, he found the lead when it mattered most.
That’s one thing people seem to forget about Larson, his restart ability. One thing about a restart, especially when a driver is not the leader, is reaction time. Keep in mind, on restarts in NASCAR, the leader is the one who goes first to get the race back under green conditions. Anywhere within the zone for the restart, the leader can go. After that, it’s let them have it. For second place and back, it’s all about timing the move, and the start.
Larson found both on the final restart when he was somehow able to pull right up to leader Martin Truex Jr, then dive right below him at the right time to get the momentum into the turn. And with that move, he was sailing to the front, and even singing on the radio. Although his spotter needed to keep him quiet in order for him to finish the race, and at least get the win. Sometimes celebrating too early is costly, and his team wasn’t risking that.
Something tells me that Larson wants to win on different style tracks. But until then, I’ll keep him as a favorite at these two.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Brad Keselowski
STAGE 2 WINNER: Martin Truex Jr.
RESULTS: 1-Larson 2-Truex Jr. 3-Jones 4-Newman 5-Bayne 6-Buescher 7-Dillon 8-Elliott 9-McMurray 10-Kyle Busch
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Kurt Busch 13-Harvick 14-Earnhardt Jr. 15-Blaney 16-Hamlin 17-Keselowski 18-Stenhouse Jr. 19-Johnson 28-Logano 38-Kahne
CAUTIONS: 5 for 28 laps. Lap 62-66 (Stage 1 Conclusion); 122-127 (Stage 2 Conclusion); 140-147 (#5, 19 Incident-T2); 187-191 (Debris-BS); 197-200 (#95, 27 Incident-T2 [Red Flag-5 Mins, 39 Secs.]).
LEAD CHANGES: 14 among 7 drivers. B. Keselowski 1-42; E. Jones # 43-46; B. Keselowski 47-63; D. Suarez # 64-66; B. Keselowski 67-110; Kyle Busch 111-113; M. Truex Jr. 114-127; B. Keselowski 128; M. Truex Jr. 129-159; E. Jones # 160; B. Keselowski 161; D. Hamlin 162-177; Kyle Busch 178-188; M. Truex Jr. 189-200; K. Larson 201-202.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 40 Mins, 38 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 150.903 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.31 Seconds
POINT STANDINGS (Points/Behind Leader [Playoff Points]): 1. Truex Jr, 933 [35]; 2. Larson, -129 [18]; 3. Kyle Busch, -136 [14]; 4. Harvick, -146 [8]; 5. Keselowski, -213 [14]; 6. Hamlin, -223 [7]; 7. Elliott, -248 [2]; 8. McMurray, -258; 9. Kenseth, -279 [2]; 10. Bowyer, -310 [1]; 11. Johnson, -341 [16]; 12. Blaney, -341 [8]; 13. Logano, -377 [1]*; 14. Kurt Busch, -379 [5]; 15. Newman, -397 [5]; 16. Jones, -409; 18. Stenhouse Jr, -428 [10]; 20. Kahne, -495 [5]; 21. Dillon, -497 [5].
*Win from Richmond is encumbered. Does not count towards seeding or automatic entry in the playoffs.