Larson, Johnston return to Daytona after near miss in 500
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. » Kyle Larson found himself leading the 2017 Daytona 500 with one lap remaining and a shot to win the biggest race on the NASCAR calendar.
Then he ran out of gas and finished 12th. Pretty good day, Larson thought as he left Daytona International Speedway.
“At the moment, I wasn’t that upset because I never thought I’d have a shot to win the 500,” Larson said. “I was just really excited that I had a shot to win. It was the days after that I was really bummed out, realizing that I could have won the 500.”
Well, his crew chief was bummed out even before the fuel tank ran dry on the Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
It was an agonizing final five laps for Chad Johnston, who knew the No. 42 was close to running out of gas but wasn’t sure if the car could make it to the checkered flag. As car after car ran out of gas and Larson moved to the front, the team was 2 ½ miles from victory.
“Half a gallon of gas,” Johnston said. He said those final five laps were “sickening.”
“We gave it away,” Johnston said of the race won by Kurt Busch. “We knew we were close. We didn’t know we were going to run out.”
Larson and Johnston are back at Daytona in the first garage stall, their right NASCAR’s points leader.
With two wins this season, the team has been second to only Martin Truex Jr. as the class of the Cup Series this year. They’ve got a solid spot in the playoffs, and a hot summer of racing ahead of them, but Johnston said the plan is still to win every weekend.
There’s no rest for this Ganassi team, not after how long it has taken to get into this position. For Larson, the promised as future star of NASCAR, it has taken almost four years for him to finally scratch the surface of his potential.
Gordon Brickyard 400 pace-car driver
INDIANAPOLIS » Jeff Gordon will get another opportunity to lead the Brickyard 400 field — and this time, he’s not planning to come out of retirement to do it.
Two years after bidding farewell to his local fans, the only five-time race winner will return to Indy’s historic 2.5-mile oval as the pace-car driver next month.
“This has been a very special race over the years — for me and NASCAR,” Gordon said in a statement issued Thursday by race officials. “Winning at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a dream of mine as a kid. I’m excited to lead the field to green at this year’s Brickyard 400.”