Kyle Larson, who started third in Sunday’s race at Road America driving a patriotic HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, remained in that position until acting No. 5 crew chief Kevin Meendering called him to pit road at lap 12 for four new tires and fuel. The driver of the red, white and blue scheme that showcased its “hiring veterans” message returned to the track in 12th and gained one more position before stage one ended on the road course at lap 15.
The strategy of pitting before the end of the stage paid off when the leaders stopped for service during the stage break. When the race restarted at lap 17, Larson was scored in the runner-up position. He lost a position to Tyler Reddick before Meendering again called Larson to pit road for service before the end of stage two. Larson returned to the track in 12th, where he finished when the stage ended at lap 30.
The Elk Grove, California, native again gained positions when the leaders pitted during the break. Larson restarted third on lap 32 of the 62-lap race and remained there until his final green-flag stop occurred on lap 43. Once the pit stop cycle ended on lap 48, Larson again was scored third. He was unable to mount a charge on the top two and finished the race third – securing his eighth top-five finish of the season.
On Saturday, Larson made his return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports. From the pole position, the 29-year-old driver won stage one and stage two before ultimately finishing second in the race.
QUOTING KYLE LARSON:
“A nice, smooth day and our pit crew was great the few times we came down pit road. Our HendrickCars.com Chevy was good enough to run where we did. So, overall happy and congrats to (first-time winner) Tyler Reddick. That is really cool. I grew up racing with him in Outlaw cars in California, so it’s really awesome to see him win. I know everybody from northern California is really proud.”
NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team will head to the ATL for 400 miles of racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 267-lap race takes place Sunday, July, 10 at 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on USA.
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