Larson makes All-Star Race in fender-banging Showdown finish
Kyle Larson is racing in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race thanks to a close win over Chase Elliott.
Larson held off Elliott in a thrilling last three laps of the rain-delayed Sprint Showdown qualifying race for the All-Star Race. Elliott got a run on the final lap and went to make the pass but Larson pinched the driver of the No. 24 into the wall.
The two kept banging fenders as they drove to the checkered flag and Larson won by a few feet.
Two laps before, Larson pinched Elliott to the bottom of the tack and got Elliott loose. Had Elliott been able to complete that earlier pass, Larson probably had no shot at the win.
Despite finishing second, Elliott is in the race. He got in via the fan vote for the race along with Danica Patrick. Joining Larson, Elliott and Patrick in transferring to the All-Star Race via the Showdown are Trevor Bayne and Greg Biffle.
Bayne won the first 20-lap segment of the race with a three-wide pass over Ryan Blaney and Elliott on the segment’s final lap. The pass happened thanks to a restart before the final lap; a restart that NASCAR judged Blaney (who was second on the restart) jumped over Elliott (who was first).
And then after he made the pass, Bayne had to hold off Elliott at the finish line in an incredibly close finish.
Blaney contended that Elliott had spun his tires in accelerating to the green flag. NASCAR didn’t think so and sent Blaney to the back of the field for segment 2.
But it’s also important to note that Blaney’s penalty paved the way for Bayne’s win. Bayne was able to make the pass because Blaney got a jump on the restart and pinned Elliott down in turns 1 and 2. Had Blaney not been ahead of Elliott in the corners, Bayne very likely doesn’t have the opportunity to make the pass.
Bayne deserved the win – he didn’t violate any rules and it was a heck of a move. But perhaps it’s possible to have a rule declaring if there is a restart penalty with less than 20 laps to go, the driver black-flagged is moved to the back of the field and the restart is redone.
Biffle got the win in the second segment with some good pit strategy. The restart late in the first segment was set up thanks to a spin with four laps to go. Biffle was one of the few drivers who hit pit road for four fresh tires during the caution flag.
Everyone was mandated to change two tires between segments and many of the top-running drivers chose to take two tires. The four-tire change meant Biffle had two fresher tires and he passed Austin Dillon and drove away for the win easily.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
