Larson steals win in regular-season finale
RICHMOND, VA.» Kyle Larson and his Chip Ganassi Racing team needed a break, and it came with two laps remaining.
Running second to a dominant Martin Truex Jr. and itching for fresh tires and a shot at victory in overtime Saturday night, Larson got it when Derrike Cope’s car hit the wall, bringing out the seventh yellow flag of the race. Larson grabbed the lead on pit road and sailed to the victory.
“I guess we stole the win, I guess you could say, or our pit crew, I felt like, stole the win because they got me off as the leader,” Larson said.
The victory was Larson’s fourth of the season, tying Truex for the most this year.
“I’m really pumped for the playoffs. We’ve got a really good shot at the championship,” Larson said. “I’ve got the greatest team out here and definitely the best pit crew. They were money all night long to gain spots. This win is a huge congrats to them.”
And to the 58-year-old Cope, who was starting his 13th race of the season and hasn’t finished better than 31st. He was 38th at Richmond.
Truex, who clinched the regular-season NASCAR Cup title last week, had the race easily in hand until Cope crashed with under four laps remaining. Truex then wrecked in overtime while racing with Denny Hamlin for position. The sequence cost him his fifth win of the season.
“A caution for a guy who shouldn’t even have been out there,” Truex said of Cope. “It’s kind of ridiculous.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was officially eliminated from the playoffs with a 13th-place finish. He is retiring at the end of the season, and has never won a Cup title. He stayed out during late green-flag pit stops Saturday, briefly assuming the lead with 66 laps remaining, but the caution that could have made the strategy pay off never came.
Truex will still start the 10-race playoff stretch as the favorite to win the championship because he earned the most bonus points during the regular season. He and his Furniture Row Racing team were presented with the regular-season championship trophy.