Larson grabs victory as Elliott, Harvick continue to conflict
Kyle Larson rallied from early electrical issues Sunday to win for the seventh time this season and storm into the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Larson’s victory on the Roval ended a topsy-turvy day for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson and reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott moved into the round of eight, but Alex Bowman and William Byron were eliminated and Elliott was nearly sabotaged by a vengeful Kevin Harvick.
Harvick laid in wait to deliver his payback on Elliott for Elliott costing him a win at Bristol three weeks ago. The retaliation came about halfway through
the race when Harvick sent Elliott into the wall — a wreck that put Elliott on the verge of elimination.
“You remember Bristol,” Harvick said the first time he was asked if it was deliberate. The second time he was asked, he responded, “Sometimes real life teaches you good lessons.”
But his No. 9 team got Elliott back into contention — even with his bumper flapping in the wind off the back of his Chevrolet — and he drove through the field and into position to ruin another day for Harvick.
Elliott and his crew had said over their public team radio that Elliott should wreck Harvick if he got close to him again Sunday and as they hurtled into the first turn with 10 laps remaining, perhaps Harvick began to worry.
He botched the entry, almost as if he was looking in his rearview mirror, and drove directly into the wall in a hard hit that crumpled the entire front end of his Ford. The crowd roared its approval as Elliott cruised through the crash scene and Harvick’s title run came to its earliest end since the elimination format began in 2014.
On the day he made his 750th career start, he finished 33rd and was eliminated along with Christopher Bell, Byron and Bowman.
Larson, meanwhile, plunged to 36th when he began to lose power in his Chevrolet and had to make multiple pit stops to change the alternator belt and change the battery. The lengthy stops saved his race and staved off his own startling flirtation with an early playoff exit.
Formula One: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas won the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul for his first victory of the season, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second to reclaim the overall lead from title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Sergio Perez capped a strong day for Red Bull by finishing in third place. Verstappen wiped away Hamilton’s two-point lead and now leads the Mercedes driver by six points with six races left in a thrilling title competition that could go all the way to the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton, the defending champion, lost valuable points by finishing fifth after coming in for a late tire change, despite telling his team he wanted to stay on track when still in third.