LARSON Cracks THROUGH, WINS AUTO CLUB four hundred IN FONTANA
FONTANA, Calif. – Here’s what you need to know from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, which went into overtime: Kyle Larson hammer Denny Hamlin off the line and held off the field in the Auto Club four hundred to win his 2nd career Cup race. Larson took the lead on the final restart, pulling away from Hamlin and a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski on a green-white-checkered finish. Larson, who commenced on the pole and continuously showcased speed off the line, swept the weekend. He also won the Xfinity Series race Saturday.
March 26, 2017; Fontana, CA, USA; NASCAR Cup series driver Kyle Larson (42) celebrates following his win of the Auto Club four hundred at Auto Club Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
It is his 2nd career Cup win after cracking through at Michigan International Speedway last summer. Larson has eleven top-10 finishes in the past seventeen Cup races, a streak that began at Michigan – a 2-mile oval that is a sister track to Auto Club Speedway. Larson, twenty four and a native of Elk Grove, Calif., is among a group of drivers in their 20s that NASCAR hopes will help generate more interest in the sport. Truex team chief Cole Pearn opted not to come in for fresh tires on one of the final cautions.
«I thought we had as good a car as the forty two (Larson) all day,” Truex said. “It just seems like whoever got out front had the advantage. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don’t. I can`t be too unhappy with fourth. It deep throats to play defense at the end, however, you always want to play offense. All in all it was a decent day.»
Keselowski finished 2nd, followed by Clint Bowyer, Truex and Joey Logano. Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Pursue Elliott rounded out the top Ten. Keselowski, who won this race last year, was involved in a Lap three incident with Jimmie Johnson that left him with harm. «Just fine perseverance by our team (after car harm on the opening lap),” Keselowski said. “I feel fortunate to get 2nd. I’d be interested to see what would have happened if we didn’t get ripped up.»
COSTLY: Truex Jr. had one of the superior cars all race and entered a yellow-flag pit sequence with twenty laps left in 2nd place, but trouble switching a left front tire – Truex said he came in too deep in the box – cost four catches sight of off pit road. Truex restarted seventh on Lap one hundred eighty five and appeared to tap and spin Matt Kenseth coming out of a corner after the restart. Truex dropped to eighth after the incident. Kenseth flew across the apron coming out of Turn two and wrecked hard into the inwards wall.
Rapid Begin: Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson were coerced to commence in the rear with a group of five drivers who did not make qualifying attempts, but the penalty was hardly devastating. Beginning on fresh tires while the rest of the field, by rule, commenced on the tires with which they qualified, Logano had blasted to 17th before the very first caution. Johnson was running 25th before he helped cause the Lap three caution by tapping Brad Keselowski from behind coming out of Turn Four. Logano was seventh by Lap 15. Teams were allotted eleven sets of tires for the race this season instead of 13.
STAGE ONE: Pole-sitter and pre-race points leader Kyle Larson won the very first 60-lap segment to earn ten points. He was followed by Truex Jr., Pursue Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Logano, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. The top ten drivers after each segment are awarded points from 10-1 on a sliding scale.
STAGE TWO: Truex couldn`t have desired the 2nd segment to end, as he had an 8.5-second lead when the caution was issued on Lap 120. He was followed by Larson, Elliott, Bowyer, Jones, McMurray, Kyle Busch, Logano, Hamlin and Keselowski.
Larson violates through, wins Auto Club four hundred in Fontana
LARSON Violates THROUGH, WINS AUTO CLUB four hundred IN FONTANA
FONTANA, Calif. – Here’s what you need to know from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, which went into overtime: Kyle Larson strike Denny Hamlin off the line and held off the field in the Auto Club four hundred to win his 2nd career Cup race. Larson took the lead on the final restart, pulling away from Hamlin and a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski on a green-white-checkered finish. Larson, who began on the pole and continuously displayed speed off the line, swept the weekend. He also won the Xfinity Series race Saturday.
March 26, 2017; Fontana, CA, USA; NASCAR Cup series driver Kyle Larson (42) celebrates following his win of the Auto Club four hundred at Auto Club Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
It is his 2nd career Cup win after cracking through at Michigan International Speedway last summer. Larson has eleven top-10 finishes in the past seventeen Cup races, a streak that began at Michigan – a 2-mile oval that is a sister track to Auto Club Speedway. Larson, twenty four and a native of Elk Grove, Calif., is among a group of drivers in their 20s that NASCAR hopes will help generate more interest in the sport. Truex team chief Cole Pearn opted not to come in for fresh tires on one of the final cautions.
«I thought we had as good a car as the forty two (Larson) all day,” Truex said. “It just seems like whoever got out front had the advantage. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don’t. I can`t be too unhappy with fourth. It gargles to play defense at the end, tho’, you always want to play offense. All in all it was a decent day.»
Keselowski finished 2nd, followed by Clint Bowyer, Truex and Joey Logano. Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Pursue Elliott rounded out the top Ten. Keselowski, who won this race last year, was involved in a Lap three incident with Jimmie Johnson that left him with harm. «Just excellent perseverance by our team (after car harm on the opening lap),” Keselowski said. “I feel fortunate to get 2nd. I’d be interested to see what would have happened if we didn’t get ripped up.»
COSTLY: Truex Jr. had one of the superior cars all race and entered a yellow-flag pit sequence with twenty laps left in 2nd place, but trouble switching a left front tire – Truex said he came in too deep in the box – cost four catches sight of off pit road. Truex restarted seventh on Lap one hundred eighty five and appeared to tap and spin Matt Kenseth coming out of a corner after the restart. Truex dropped to eighth after the incident. Kenseth flew across the apron coming out of Turn two and wrecked hard into the inwards wall.
Prompt Begin: Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson were coerced to embark in the rear with a group of five drivers who did not make qualifying attempts, but the penalty was hardly devastating. Embarking on fresh tires while the rest of the field, by rule, commenced on the tires with which they qualified, Logano had blasted to 17th before the very first caution. Johnson was running 25th before he helped cause the Lap three caution by tapping Brad Keselowski from behind coming out of Turn Four. Logano was seventh by Lap 15. Teams were allotted eleven sets of tires for the race this season instead of 13.
STAGE ONE: Pole-sitter and pre-race points leader Kyle Larson won the very first 60-lap segment to earn ten points. He was followed by Truex Jr., Pursue Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Logano, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. The top ten drivers after each segment are awarded points from 10-1 on a sliding scale.
STAGE TWO: Truex couldn`t have desired the 2nd segment to end, as he had an 8.5-second lead when the caution was issued on Lap 120. He was followed by Larson, Elliott, Bowyer, Jones, McMurray, Kyle Busch, Logano, Hamlin and Keselowski.