Charlotte finish doesn't reflect strong showing 600-mile race
TRACK: Charlotte Motor Speedway
LENGTH: 1.5-mile oval
DATE: May 29, 2023
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 30th
STANDINGS: 11th (-69 points)
A rainy Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina caused NASCAR to cancel practice and qualifying on Saturday. The starting line-up was determined per the NASCAR rule book, scoring the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team with a 12th-place starting position for the Coca-Cola 600. Precipitation continued Sunday, forcing the NASCAR Cup Series race to be postponed until Monday afternoon.
Following the green flag, Kyle Larson raced around the top-10 running order for most of the opening stage. The 30-year-old driver reported that his Chevy was tight and crew chief Cliff Daniels wasted no time calling for adjustments. He reassured Larson he was doing a great job with what he had and continued to work with the No. 5 crew to make changes to the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under the opening cautions of the race. Although still feeling tight throughout stage one, the Elk Grove, California, native ultimately gained three positions by the end of the first stage, finishing ninth.
During the stage break, Larson visited pit road for four tires, fuel and further adjustments. He was held up on pit road from the competitor in the stall in front of him, and forced to choose 16th for the stage two start. Following the restart, Larson still struggled to find speed and raced mid-pack. After nearly 40 green-flag laps, the No. 5 driver came down pit road during the green-flag pit cycle. His crew provided four tires, fuel and additional adjustments. Larson rejoined the field and cycled to 16th when a caution occurred for rain on lap 157. After a short rain delay, Larson came back to the attention of his crew, who this time lifted the hood to make a front-end adjustment. Following a string of cautions with less than 40 laps to go in the stage, the 2021 Cup Series champion finished stage two in 13th.
Going into stage three, Larson reported his HendrickCars.com Chevy was less tight than before. During the stage break, he came down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. He chose 12th taking the outside for the restart with 93 laps to go in the stage. Only 24 laps later, a caution occurred with Larson progressing his way to the 10th position. When pit road opened, Larson came to his pit crew who executed a fast four-tire pit stop with fuel, gaining three positions on pit road. Following the restart with 64 laps to go in the stage, Larson quickly entered the top five. His new found speed propelled him forward, scoring the third position when another caution occurred on lap 275. Larson visited pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment before the restart with 20 laps to go in the stage. The No. 5 driver battled around the top-five in the closing laps, before ultimately finishing stage three in sixth.
A fast four-tire and fuel pit stop from the No. 5 pit crew during the stage break earned Larson three positions on pit road. He took the outside of the second row for the final stage, restarting with 93 laps to go. Larson held his top-five position until a caution occurred after 36 green-flag laps. Running in the fifth position, he visited pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. He took the outside for the restart with 51 laps to go. In less than two laps, Larson advanced to claim the runner-up position, behind teammate William Byron. A quick string of multiple cautions occurred over the next 25 laps before the lap 374 restart when Larson chose third to take the outside of the second row when going back to green with 26 laps remaining. Almost immediately, Larson was in the fourth position after the restart when he was involved in an on-track incident that ended his race early at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 5 team was scored with a 30th-place finish at the end of the 600-mile event.
QUOTING KYLE LARSON:
“It’s tough. We (the No. 5 team) were slow in the beginning of the race and struggled to gain track position. After many adjustments, we were finally able to find speed in stage three. Then we ran most of our laps in the top-five, were competitive enough to be in contingency for the win, and then couldn’t finish the race. It’s disappointing, but I’m proud of our team for being able to improve throughout the race. Big thank you as always to HendrickCars.com for their support. We’ll try again next weekend.”
NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet head to the Midwest where they will compete at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The 300-mile race goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
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