Defending NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson avoided a massive crash that took out several top contenders at Talladega Sunday and as a result was able to take second to Joey Logano in a Stage 2 photo finish, widening his Chase lead.
Larson entered the day with only a five-point cushion over Christopher Bell, according to Auto Action, so the question became how much one backstretch wreck changed the Chase.
A tire failure at Phoenix last week sent Larson into the wall and cut his lead from 49 points to five. Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was the next test.
Kyle Larson’s Stage Points Haul at Talladega
Chris Buescher won Stage 1 after he and RFK Racing teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski pulled away from the field during a fuel-saving stage, according to Racing News’ Shane Walters. Larson took fourth for seven stage points. Logano took ninth for two.
But Bell spun entering pit road on Lap 56 and fell three laps down, Racing News reported. He scored no stage points.
Then came Lap 132. A wild backstretch accident collected 12 drivers, including Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain.
Blaney went to the infield care center, and Reddick’s car sustained irreparable damage. Hamlin’s Toyota took damage but kept running. Larson and Logano cleared the wreck. Chase Briscoe barely did. Bell, already three laps down, had also taken a pass-through penalty for too many crew members over the wall.
“I couldn’t block the 12 quick enough so I went back down to the 6, ’cause the 12 got to my outside, so I was trying to get out of his way,” Logano said, according to NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck. The 12 is Blaney’s car. The 6 is Keselowski’s.
“Wasn’t his fault…” Blaney said of teammate Logano’s move.
The field restarted with five laps left in the stage, Larson on the inside lane and Logano on the outside with Austin Cindric pushing. Logano edged Larson at the line, according to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass.
Briscoe, Cindric and William Byron completed the top five. Logano collected 10 stage points and a playoff point for the win. Larson earned nine.
Kyle Larson’s Chase Lead After Big Wreck
Larson’s 16 stage points, seven in Stage 1 and nine in Stage 2, were the most of any driver through two stages. Logano finished with 12. Bell and Reddick scored no stage points, and Blaney scored three.
Larson led Bell by 21 points at the stage break, according to Matt Weaver. Briscoe trailed by 28, Hamlin by 47, Logano by 48, Blaney by 53 and Reddick by 72.
Before the race, those gaps stood at five points for Bell, 24 for Briscoe, 31 for Hamlin, 44 for Logano, 40 for Blaney and 56 for Reddick, Auto Action reported. Stage 3 still had 45 laps to run when those standings were posted, so the final totals depended on the finish.
Larson is winless in 23 Cup starts at Talladega with a 22.0 average finish, according to Yahoo Sports. April’s race ended in a 40th-place finish after an accident, Auto Action reported.
He has scored 91 Talladega stage points in the Next Gen era, second to Chase Elliott’s 94, according to NASCAR.com.
“I feel like, just speaking for us in the No. 5, we’ve scored stage points in a lot of stages here,” Larson said, as quoted by Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass.
Sunday added 16 more, with the final stage to go. Larson was leading with 26 laps remaining. Martinsville and Homestead-Miami remain on the schedule.
Massive Talladega Crash Gives Kyle Larson Unexpected NASCAR Championship Boost