Normalcy, for this year at least, has returned.
The Winner
Kyle Larson held off Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott to get the victory.
The Race
Looking back on it, it was those three and Christopher Bell who seemed to really have a chance. Bell got knocked out of contention by contact with Larson. Elliott’s own flat-spotting of his tires did him in. But both had rallied after starting from the back of the pack after failing prerace inspection too many times, making the fact they were up there noteworthy, especially if this week has any indicative power for next week’s road course race in Indianapolis.
Notable Names
Elliott finished 2nd, Truex finished 3rd. Truex won the second stage.
Kyle Busch was 4th.
Denny Hamlin was 5th.
William Byron was 6th.
Bell finished 7th.
Kevin Harvick was 8th.
Chase Briscoe had a great day relative to his season so far, coming in 9th.
Tyler Reddick was 10th and grabbed a few stage points to stay ahead of Austin Dillon on the bubble.
Matt DiBenedetto was 11th.
Ross Chastain was 12th.
Kurt Busch was 13th.
Ryan Blaney was 14th.
Dillon was 15th.
Aric Almirola was 16th.
Chris Buescher was 17th.
Cole Custer was 18th.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was 19th.
Alex Bowman was 20th.
Michael McDowell was 21st.
Joey Logano got hit by outgoing teammate Brad Keselowski’s back bumper on a Keselowski spin. Ended up 22nd after winning the first stage.
Bubba Wallace was 23rd.
Ryan Newman was 25th.
Erik Jones was 27th.
Ryan Preece was 28th.
Daniel Suárez was 31st.
Keselowski spun another time before the one where he hit Logano, from the lead in the first instance, and finished 35th.
Standings
1. Larson (5 wins)
2. Truex (3 wins)
3. Bowman (3 wins)
4. Kyle Busch (2 wins)
5. Elliott (2 wins)
6. Byron (1 win)
7. Logano (1 win)
8. Blaney (1 win)
9. Keselowski (1 win)
10. Kurt Busch (1 win)
11. Bell (1 win)
12. McDowell (1 win)
13. Almirola (1 win)
14. Hamlin (302 points ahead of first driver out)
15. Harvick (95 points ahead of first driver out)
16. Reddick (last driver in, 15 points ahead of first driver out)
17. Dillon (first driver out, 15 points behind last driver in)
18. Buescher (135 points behind last driver in)
19. DiBenedetto (147 points behind last driver in)
20. Chastain (148 points behind last driver in)
21. Stenhouse (188 points behind last driver in)
22. Wallace (190 points behind last driver in)
23. Briscoe (219 points behind last driver in)
24. Suárez (223 points behind last driver in)
25. Jones (259 points behind last driver in)
26. Newman (264 points behind last driver in)
27. Preece (264 points behind last driver in)
28. Custer (274 points behind last driver in)
Thoughts, Implications, Up Next
The three races left before the playoffs are at the Indianapolis Road Course, Michigan, and Daytona. All three could theoretically give us a wildcard winner, but Daytona’s the most likely, setting up for a dramatic regular season finale. Bell’s strength before the break at New Hampshire and again yesterday is intriguing. In playoff points, Larson has a massive advantage (28 points ahead of Truex, who has the second-most), and could keep adding to it. Hamlin is tied with Larson on raw points, which is wild given the former has zero wins.
Fun Stuff/Videos
Keselowski’s first spin:
Briscoe getting aggressive early:
NASCAR’s Twitter account ragging on Penske (remember, Keselowski’s outgoing, and also remember this was before Keselowski hit Logano, and also remember the Daytona 500 dysfunction not a great time for Penske at the moment which probably means Blaney’s winning it all):
Somehow this didn’t spin either guy? I don’t understand stock cars.
Larson and Bell collide:
Slow-motion (check out Larson’s wheels not spinning):
Keselowski takes out Logano:
