Larson, No. 5 team leave Austin with 29th-place finish after being collected in a late-race restart

Kyle Larson, who qualified 13th for Sunday’s road course event at Circuit of The Americas, was inside the top 10 after just eight laps. When four teams elected to pit prior to the stage break at lap 15, Larson moved up the scoring pylon to finish fifth in stage one.

After stopping for tires and fuel during the break, Larson restarted 24th behind the drivers who stopped prior to the stage break. But contact with another car after the restart sent the No. 5 entry spinning. Scored 38th on lap 18, Larson maneuvered up to 23rd by lap 26 before No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road. Although he finished the stage 28th, the pit strategy moved Larson to 15th for the restart after 13 teams made their pit stop during the break.

When a caution waved on lap 40 of the race scheduled for 68 laps, Larson was up to 12th. A fast four-tire pit stop by the No. 5 HendrickCars.com crew gained him another four spots in the race off pit road. But after restarting eighth, Larson dropped to 10th before a caution waved at lap 53. Daniels again called Larson to pit road for service, but many teams elected not to pit during the caution period. With 12 laps to go, Larson restarted the race from 26th. He was up six spots when another caution waved on lap 63. But the ensuing restart did not go as planned, and Larson was collected in a multi-car accident as the field exited turn one. After stopping for repairs, Larson was able to make it to the checkered flag to finish 29th.

QUOTING KYLE LARSON:

“We were running pretty good there early before I got spun around. Then we had to use some strategy to put ourselves back in position and in the top 10. But it seemed every decision I made on restarts was the wrong one today, and then we got involved in that accident on the restart near the end. Not the finish we were looking for.”

NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team head to Richmond Raceway next Sunday, April 3 for 400 laps around the 3/4-mile race track. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on FOX.