Traffic jams up Larson in another rough start
LOUDON, N.H. — Getting through traffic has not been a problem for Kyle Larson. The problem has been how much traffic he’s needed to work through in the first place.
For the second straight week, he was forced to start at the back of the pack, and settled for second place, running out of real estate as Denny Hamlin prevailed by 0.509 seconds in the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Last weekend in Kentucky for the Quaker State 400, Larson did not get a qualifying run because the car could not clear inspection. To make matters worse, the car then failed post-race inspection because of a “rear brake cooling assembly that didn’t meet standards,” according to a NASCAR penalty report.
The penalty was severe. His runner-up spot was ruled encumbered, and he lost 35 driver points that put him 34 points behind Martin Truex Jr. for the top spot in the Monster Energy Series. Larson’s crew chief, Chad Johnston, picked up a three-race suspension and was fined $75,000.
One would think Larson and his crew would have everything on the up-andup as NASCAR came to the Granite State. He had the fastest car in Friday’s qualifying at 133.324 mph with a lap of 28.586 seconds, but that was wiped out by an unapproved rear deck fin lid and Larson was shipped to the back of the pack of 39 cars.
“I think with how fast we’ve been running and all that, NASCAR has kept a closer eye on our team in particular,” said Larson, who has four top-10 finishes in seven starts at the Magic Mile. “What was going on with the shark fin wasn’t anything different really than the other teams tinker with, just trying to maximize their aero performance in their cars. We just got in trouble for it, so had to go to the back.”
His car did manage to clear post-race inspection.
Larson quickly worked his way through the field, getting up to third by the end of the first stage behind Truex, who had the lead for the first 75 laps. He managed to briefly get the top spot with 63 laps to go when Kyle Busch came to pit row — a trip made above the 45 mph speed limit to essentially end Larson’s chances of reaching Victory Lane.
Larson sat ninth following the second stage — after lap 150 — and then was near the top five the rest of the way. By the end of the race, he had separated himself from Truex and was taking aim at Hamlin.
It was a two-car chase over the last couple laps with Hamlin holding on for his first win since last September.
With two wins and seven second-place finishes this year, it is clear Larson has one of the top cars. Now he needs to make sure he avoids having to start at the back of the pack and spend the first part of the race getting through traffic.