FONTANA, CA – Even after ending dominant Kyle Larson by means of 2023, the brand new NASCAR Cup Sequence season has entered filled with uncertainty.
“Going to a brand new automotive, you simply do not know if you are going to win or not,” he stated.
Larson now not has to surprise after simply two races into the brand new yr within the new automotive – though his path to victory included a fateful collision with fellow grumpy teammate Chase Elliott on a busy day at Fontana.
NASCAR Cup Sequence champion defending Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez gained a tense closing on Sunday, surviving the restart with 4 laps remaining to win at Auto Membership Speedway for the second time.
Earlier than the chaotic end, Larson and Elliott known as in slightly below 20 laps, with Larson pinching his teammate Hendrick Motorsports right into a wall whereas preventing to remain forward of Joey Logano. Larson apologized for the collision over the radio, saying he hadn’t seen Elliott make a daring transfer to overhaul him – however Elliott, who completed 26, and his crew had been actually upset.
“I had no clue that it was coming,” Larson stated. “I hate that I ended his day after they labored so arduous to get again to the entrance. Possibly it was simply an sincere mistake from each elements… I do know they’re upset, however I’d by no means run to my teammates and I deliberately blocked them late.”
Larson then had the win on the horizon by eight laps earlier than Elliott took off, forcing warning quantity 12 within the race. NASCAR followers have run out of hypothesis on-line that Elliott’s flip was a deliberate try to break Larson’s possibilities of successful.
Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels rejected this concept, believing there could be no long-term injury to their relationship with Hendrik.
“I do know we’re all nice friends collectively,” Daniels stated. “I do know it was nothing they’d do on objective. I do not blame Chase in any respect for doing what would have been a transfer to win the race. [earlier]. …unlucky, however I do know we are going to all come to the identical web page.”
The hype with Elliott arrange one other nice race for Larson, who hasn’t gained a race anyplace but in 2023. After ranging from behind beneath a penalty, the relentless Northern California-based multidisciplinary competitor secured one other victory at Fontana in a race Entertaining that includes ample passing, loads of bugs and top-down stunts on veteran asphalt in 5 strokes.
Larson pulled off the pits first after the final warning, and led the ultimate reboot. He was uneven with Suarez, who briefly led earlier than Delon entered the draft to take his shot on the captain.
Larson caught with all of it and raced for his seventeenth profession win, the eleventh in his further yr at Hendrik Motorsports Chevrolet. However he solely added one other well-known windsurfing trophy to his 2017 award after clinging to the highest with an exhilarating end within the first race of NASCAR’s next-generation automotive on an intermediate circuit.
“There have been positively some guys on the market who had been quicker than us, however that they had their unhealthy luck,” Larson stated. “We stored our heads in all of it day. … the entire race was loopy, however it’s positively good to win in California.”
Dillon got here in second, Suarez slipped to fourth behind Eric Jones with Chevrolet taking the highest 4.
“We had a quick automotive, however we went by means of a variety of ordeals,” Suarez stated. “It is a lot enjoyable to race like that.”
Lugano completed fifth, whereas Daytona 500 champion and Daytona 500 champion Austin Cendrick completed sixteenth.
the day you need me
Tyler Riddick gained the primary two phases and drove 90 laps on Sunday – greater than he is pushed in his earlier Cup profession mixed – however his race slipped off the lead by 48 laps. He obtained an condo shortly earlier than William Byron undressed and pushed him towards a wall, ending Byron’s day.
Riddick is again, however he takes twenty fourth place. The California native was additionally main the showdown on the Colosseum three weeks in the past earlier than he was sidelined as a consequence of a prop shaft failure.
Excessive warning
On the thirty second Cup Sequence race at Fontana, the drivers tied the 2008 document for 12 cautions — and that was for a 500-mile race, as an alternative of the present 400-mile iteration.
RAMS GO RACIN’
The closest NASCAR race to Hollywood had a couple of of the standard film stars, together with Danny Trejo, however the largest names had been from esports in Southern California. Slugger Albert Pujols drove the quick automotive, whereas the Los Angeles Rams left and Andrew Whitworth was joined in his duties to the Grand Marshal by Matthew Stafford.
Whitworth stated his second date together with his spouse Melissa was at a NASCAR race whereas she was reporting on it. Stafford known as himself an unofficial fan of the race, however was cheering Elliot as fellow No. 9 with connections to Georgia.
Neither Whitworth nor Pujols had any bulletins about the way forward for their taking part in. Stafford stated he wished his 40-year-old blind guard again, however would respect any choice Whitworth makes as a result of he’s an “outdated man”.
Subsequent
The West Coast swing continues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6. Larson gained the spring race in Vegas final yr.
