Kyle Larson, back in the Cup Series after losing his ride last year due to saying the n-word on a live stream, won yesterday at Las Vegas.
Feelings differ on Larson, and on his contrition, and on the proper consequences for his action. I’ll let you decide your own feelings for yourself. It shouldn’t have to be Bubba Wallace’s job to offer judgment on this, but for whatever it’s worth, Wallace did go to victory lane to congratulate Larson and show support.
The Winner
Besides a slight hiccup, in which Larson missed the entrance to pit road, the number 5 car led for the second half of the race. Larson took stage two. Larson pulled far away by the end.
The Race
Another clean one, and pretty good racing—more passing than sometimes occurs at these intermediate tracks. It settled out as the race went on, but there was plenty of excitement early.
Notable Names
Brad Keselowki won stage one and finished 2nd.
Kyle Busch was 3rd at his hometown track.
Denny Hamlin finished 4th.
Ryan Blaney was 5th.
Martin Truex Jr. came in 6th.
Christopher Bell wound up 7th.
William Byron ended up in 8th.
Joey Logano was 9th.
Erik Jones finished 10th.
Austin Dillon came in 12th.
Chase Elliott had some pit issues, including a jack getting stuck under the car and causing some damage, and spun at one point, during which he got a hole in the nose of the car. He still ended the race 13th.
Matt DiBenedetto, whose team’s air gun broke on the final pit stop, forcing him to nurse the car home with the left front tire severely worn, was 16th.
Michael McDowell finished 17th.
Ryan Newman came in 18th.
Kurt Busch was 19th.
Kevin Harvick took a flat tire from some contact with Jones on a restart and wound up 20th.
Chase Briscoe finished 21st.
Tyler Reddick came in 22nd.
Cole Custer was 25th.
Alex Bowman finished 27th.
Bubba Wallace, who had a power steering malfunction, came in 28th.
Aric Almirola blew a tire, hit the wall, and ended last, in 38th.
Thoughts, Implications
It wasn’t guaranteed Larson would win one this year, but it’s not surprising. That’s four playoff spots now locked up, and with one imagining Hamlin/Keselowski/Elliott/Logano/Harvick/Truex/KyBusch/Blaney/Bowman will all make the field, that leaves only three spots available. Lot of season left, though.
What’s Next
Phoenix on Sunday.
Videos, Fun Stuff
Elliott’s spin:
Anthony Alfredo narrowly missing Alex Bowman on Bowman’s way into the pits:
And that’s about it.
