LARSON UNLEASHES AGGRESSIVE APPROACH IN SPRINT SHOWDOWN
Story By:REID SPENCER /NASCAR WIRE SERVICE Photos By:GETTY IMAGES / NASCAR
CONCORD, N.C. –May 22, 2016- Different week. Different circumstances. Same driver.
Last Sunday at Dover International Speedway, Kyle Larson was chasing Matt Kenseth for the win in the AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Larson treated Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, with the utmost respect, taking great pains to run the veteran driver as cleanly as possibly. Kenseth won, with Larson trailing him in second place by a fraction of a second.
But that was not the case on Saturday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Larson was battling Chase Elliott for the lead in the final segment of the Sprint Showdown, with the last spot in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (9 p.m. ET on FS1) on the line.
When Elliott tried to pass Larson to the outside through the final corner, Larson ran Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet into the outside wall. And as the cars continued side-by-side to the finish line, Larson turned into the driver’s-side door of Elliott’s car to break his momentum. Larson got to the stripe first, by .016 seconds.
Different circumstances. Different result. No apologies.
After all, Larson was confident the fans would vote Elliott into the All-Star Race if he didn’t transfer, and Larson was right.
“He had the run,” Larson said. “I just had to squeeze him. So, I’m sure he’s upset with me. But it’s a non-points race, and we’re going for a million bucks. I felt like I had to get it done, especially knowing that he would be in the race and I wouldn’t.”
A frustrated Elliott finished second in two segments of the three segments of the Showdown by a combined .020 seconds (he was .004 seconds behind Trevor Bayne at the end of the first 20 laps).
“Kyle did what he had to do to beat us back to the line,” Elliott said. “We had a real good run. I hate to not to race your way in. That’s pretty frustrating on my behalf. I just didn’t do a very good job.
“Regardless, it was great to have some great fans to get us in this race, because I couldn’t get it done for us.”
FANS PUT DANICA PATRICK IN SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE, TOO
Danica Patrick wasn’t fast enough to transfer into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, but, as one of two Sprint Fan Vote winners, she earned a place in the 20-car field.
And Patrick felt she picked up information from the Sprint Showdown that would help her efforts in the main event—not to mention in the May 29 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
“I definitely felt like there were some things we could learn from getting out there,” Patrick said. “Obviously, we got put in the challenging situation of having zero practice with the new package (because of rain on Friday) and just going out and racing. So, there were definitely some issues, and we had to kind of Band-Aid them for the couple of segments that we had out there. But I really want to do better.
“I feel like I was at the wrong place at the wrong time a few times out there. But on the plus side, I felt like we learned about the car. Even if we didn’t make it through, we were going to be more prepared for next weekend. But, it’s just even that much better to know that I have incredible fans that always come through.”
RYAN BLANEY DONE IN BY RESTART VIOLATION
Clearly, Ryan Blaney had one of the strongest cars in Saturday’s Sprint Showdown, but a restart violation with one lap left in the race’s first 20-lap segment squelched his hopes of advancing to the Sprint All-Star Race.
Blaney was in hot pursuit of leader Chase Elliott when NASCAR called a caution on Lap 15 because of Michael McDowell’s spin through the infield grass. To begin Lap 20, the one that would decide the first transfer position, Blaney and Elliott entered the restart zone side-by-side.
But NASCAR flagged Blaney for jumping the restart, a penalty that sent the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford to the rear of the field for the start of the second segment. Blaney spent the rest of the race trying to work his way to the front and fell two spots short, finishing third in the final 10-lap run.
“First of all, we had a really, really good car,” Blaney said after the race. “We had a shot at the first segment, and the 24 (Elliott) kind of took my line away there (before the caution), which is what you’re supposed to do, and then we had that restart. He was spinning his tires on the bottom and the 6 (eventual segment winner Trevor Bayne) was pushing me, and I was half-throttle on the brakes and I don’t know what to do.
“I’ve got someone driving me forward, and the 24 is spinning his tires. I don’t know what I could have done to stop. I really don’t, and we maybe beat him by two feet. I don’t know. It’s such a weird and tricky call to make. It’s a judgment call and it’s unfortunate it bit us, but I think one thing we can look back and be proud of is how fast our car was. It’s a shame we won’t be racing tonight, but it’s definitely something to look forward to next week (in the Coca-Cola 600).”
Yes, Blaney beat Elliott to the start/finish line, which is permissible on a restart. But Blaney was penalized for putting power down in the restart zone a split second before Elliott did, which is not permissible.
