Larson is unfazed by appeal’s denial
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson’s appeal of a rules violation from last week’s race at Talladega, Ala., was denied Friday, a blow to the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s chances of advancing in NASCAR’s playoffs.
Larson was docked 10 points, crew chief Chad Johnston was fined $25,000, and car chief David Bryant was suspended for the race Sunday at Kansas Speedway after officials determined the team used unapproved metal tabs, violating NASCAR’s damaged vehicles policy.
The penalty dropped Larson from 26 points behind the playoff cutoff to 36, meaning the elimination race at Kansas is practically a must-win for him.
The expedited appeal riday morning was denied by a panel of Chuck Deery, Dixon Johnston and Cathy Rice. Chip Ganassi Racing planned to make a final appeal, but Larson didn’t seem to care whether the team was successful.
“I don’t know much about the appeals stuff. I kind of just drive,” Larson said. “Obviously, a 10-point penalty doesn’t help, but I felt like with, even being 26 points back, we were going to have to go into this week and get a win to make the next round. So it doesn’t mean much to me.”
Larson already was having a tough day at Talladega when a blown tire led to a spin on Lap 104, which caused some damage to his car. The team wound up using metal tabs to make the repairs, but the damaged vehicle policy states only fasteners or tape can reattach parts.
The repairs were made without NASCAR officials noticing the violations.
Martin Truex Jr. is in the eighth and final playoff spot heading to Kansas Speedway, but Larson has more to make up than just the points. He would need to leapfrog Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, who, along with Alex Bowman, are among the four drivers below the cut line.
“I think if it was a 26-point gap, you could win both stages or something and that would kind of get you back in it, depending on what kind of race Truex and [Clint] Bowyer and all those guys have,” Larson said, “but I don’t know. We’ll just go out there Sunday and run hard.”
One thing Larson has going for him is his success at Kansas. He has finished in the top six in two of his past three races, including last spring, when he led 101 laps and won the middle stage before a late crash forced him to finish fourth.
There’s also been heartbreak at Kansas. Larson was 29 points to the good side of the cut line last fall when engine failure eliminated him from NASCAR’s playoffs.
“There’s always more pressure to not make mistakes and you cost yourself the spot where you’re already in the playoffs or in the next round. You’re so worried about not making a mistake,” Larson said.
“We know what to do: We can run aggressive, we can race with little care, I guess. Our team can make aggressive calls if the opportunity is there. It’s a cool position to be in.”
Formula One
Lewis Hamilton returned to the United States this week with yet another Formula One championship ready for the taking.
Finish off Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel once and for all at the U.S. Grand Prix Sunday and the British driver would climb another step among racing’s greatest drivers.
A fifth season championship would tie him with Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio for second all time behind Germany’s Michael Schumacher, who won seven.
Hamilton storms into what could be a chilly, rainy Texas weekend with a commanding, 67-point lead over Vettel heading into the final four races of 2018.
If Hamilton wins Sunday, Vettel has to finish no lower than second to keep the championship going another week to Mexico City. Any Hamilton finish that leaves him eight points or more clear of Vettel will clinch the title.
Yet, facing constant reminders of the stakes, Hamilton refused to get dragged into talking about his place in F1 history.
“None of us are saying how cool it would be. We are not focusing on ‘if’s.’ We are focusing on making sure we deliver,” Hamilton said.