If Kyle Larson had won that…
Or wrecked Denny Hamlin by accident…
The Winner
Hamlin finally got his first victory of 2021, locking himself into the Round of 12.
The Race
Lots and lots and lots of wheel issues, with loose ones all over the place and some other slot. Grueling stuff, but in the end it came down to Larson, Hamlin, and Ross Chastain, with Larson’s final lap Hail Mary—he just floored it and rode the wall like a mini-golf ball going around a curve—coming up just short.
Results
Top ten, other playoff drivers:
Chastain came in third.
Martin Truex Jr. battled back from a bad-luck-pit-stop-timing lap down to finish fourth.
Kevin Harvick battled back from a vibration-extra-pit-stop to finish fifth.
Kurt Busch was sixth.
Brad Keselowski was seventh.
Joey Logano was eighth.
Chris Buescher came in ninth.
Austin Dillon was tenth.
Aric Almirola got off to a good playoff start, coming in 16th.
Tyler Reddick also survived—18th.
Christopher Bell had a few minor issues, including a loose wheel. 20th.
Ryan Blaney spun after some brake issues, coming in 22nd.
Alex Bowman blew a tire early and was hit by his teammate, William Byron. 26th.
Chase Elliott got hit by a tire on pit road while the tire was being carried by James Davison’s crew. He also had a tire go down late, putting him into the wall and out of the race. 31st.
Byron wrecked out after the Bowman contact with a flat tire of his own. 34th.
Kyle Busch wrecked out fairly early. 35th.
Michael McDowell wrecked out extremely early. 37th.
Standings
Playoff standings, as they stand, two races left before the bottom four are cut:
1. Hamlin: Advanced
2. Larson: 80 points ahead of first driver out of the Round of 12
3. Truex: 36 points ahead of first driver out
4. Kurt Busch: 26 points ahead of first driver out
5. Blaney: 22 points ahead of first driver out
6. Logano: 21 points ahead of first driver out
7. Harvick: 20 points ahead of first driver out
8. Keselowski: 12 points ahead of first driver out
9. Bell: 5 points ahead of first driver out
10. Elliott: 4 points ahead of first driver out
11. Almirola: 3 points ahead of first driver out
12. Reddick: Last driver in, 0 points ahead of first driver out
13. Bowman: First driver out, 0 points behind last driver in
14. Kyle Busch: 2 points behind last driver in
15. Byron: 9 points behind last driver in
16. McDowell: 20 points behind last driver in
Thoughts, Implications, Up Next
That was a fun one. Chastain’s refusal to give an inch—and near-wrecking of Larson—was hilarious. The number of drivers who had issues really helped everyone at that end of the field: McDowell’s far from eliminated, no one besides Hamlin and Larson is all that safe (though the guys from Harvick upwards can all breathe a bit easier than before). Good stuff all around. Richmond next, on Saturday night, followed by Bristol to close out the round.
Videos
What Larson did at the end:
Bowman/Byron:
McDowell/Wall:
Elliott/Tire:
Kyle Busch/Dillon (Busch later said it wasn’t Dillon’s fault):
Woogity/Woogity:
Byron/Wall:
Blaney/Brakelessness:
Elliott/Wall:
Chastain/Etiquette:
