[autotag]Kyle Larson[/autotag] had one of the best cars at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend but it didn’t end up with a deserved result. In the Final Stage, Larson was coming in for his final pit stop of the day and tried to make up ground to Ryan Blaney. Unfortunately for the No. 5 team, he came in too hot and crashed into the sand barrels at the beginning of pit road.
Luckily for Larson, he already clinched a spot in Championship 4 so this wreck doesn’t affect him in the playoff picture. Following the incident, Larson talked about the accident and what happened in the car. Obviously, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was disappointed he wasn’t able to repeat at Homestead.
“I was just trying to push it as much as I could,” Larson said. “(Ryan Blaney) had a great car and I felt like if he was to come off pit road the leader, he was going to end up winning the race or beating me. I was just trying to maximize my pit-in, and honestly I felt like I was doing a really good job. I just didn’t anticipate him slowing down as much as he did.”
WOW!
Kyle Larson slams into the barriers at the entrance of pit road!#NASCARPlayoffs | NBC pic.twitter.com/3rOBoJzW7t
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 22, 2023
“But on the replay, it looks like I just missed it by a lot. I need to look at data. I knew where the yellow line was and thought I was going to be under control getting there, and then yeah, he just slowed down – I locked the brakes up, slid to the right and clipped him and the barrels. I’m pretty upset at myself, more than anything. Whether he got to pit-road speed sooner than the yellow line or not, I could have just done a little bit better job judging it.”
Larson will have to brush off this incident and move forward to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. It will be important for the driver of the No. 5 car to carry momentum into Phoenix Raceway as he pursues his second NASCAR Cup Series championship.
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