Kyle Larson started on the front row in second and in front of teammates from Hendrick Chevrolet Hoover, Hendrick Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and Hendrick Subaru in Sunday’s 500-mile Home race at Talladega Superspeedway. He ran in the top 10 before a caution waved on lap seven. Crew chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road for fuel only with the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 restarting from the 13th position behind other drivers that elected not to stop during the caution period. Once the race restarted, Larson fell to 19th before another caution waved on lap 45. After stopping for right-side tires and fuel, the 30-year-old driver restarted 18th on lap 49 and battled his way up to eighth before stage one ended at lap 60.
During the stage break, Daniels called Larson to pit road for a change of left-side tires and fuel with Larson winning the race off pit road. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion restarted as the leader and remained in the top 10 until making a scheduled green-flag pit stop for fuel only at lap 100. Once pit stops were completed, Larson was scored third. By lap 111, he was pacing the field but lost two spots on the final lap of stage two to finish third on lap 120.
Larson stopped for four tires and fuel in between stages and restarted third at lap 126. Although he fell to 16th by lap 133, Larson was up to seventh before he made his final scheduled green-flag stop of the race for right-side tires with 27 laps remaining in the 188-lap race. After returning to the track in eighth position, he made a great save on lap 164 when the No. 5 HendrickCars.com entry turned sideways off of turn 2. He lost several positions and fell to 10th. When he maneuvered into the high lane – which Larson believed had the momentum – he lost additional spots. A caution waved at lap 182 with Larson down to 22nd. The final restart occurred on lap 186, and he gained four spots in the final two laps before the checkered flag waved.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott scored the win.
Larson sits 16 points behind the leader and 18 markers ahead of the cutoff position with one race remaining in the Round of 12.
QUOTING KYLE LARSON:
“We were able to get some stage points, so that was good. Stage two was working out. We almost got the stage win but we fell into third. In the final stage, the pit cycle worked out well. I just got squirrely off of (turn) two once and lost a little bit of track position. I made one bad lane decision and that pretty much ended our race.
“I’m bummed at myself for doing that. I thought it was going to be the right move, but it ended up being the wrong move.”
NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet head home and will compete on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course. The final race of the Round of 12 takes place Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on NBC.
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