Kyle Larson spins out, hits the wall during Stage 2 restart at Pocono Raceway
More bad news on these NASCAR restarts. Kyle Larson this time, from second place, was pushed too hard and spun out and into the wall. The good news is that it was just a small touch of the rear end to the wall. It won’t be much comfort as Larson will have to try and battle back to the front of the field.
Pocono Raceway isn’t called the Tricky Triangle for no reason. Things are not easy here. Racing is not easy. Spotters can’t see into Turn 1, so drivers have to make it work on their own. Three restarts in a row to start Stage 2 and we still have not made it past Turn 1.
Right now, after Kyle Larson spun out, pole-sitter William Byron is back in control with Christopher Bell behind him.
This incident doesn’t hurt as much as the prior incident hurt Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez. With multiple wins this season, Kyle Larson will be fine no matter what happens in this race at Pocono. However, drivers don’t think that way. Larson wants to win every weekend and something like this taking him out of the lead is not going to sit right with him.
Larson has been relatively quiet in the second half of the season. We will see if he can return to the same form we saw at the All-Star Race and other races earlier this year.
Kyle Larson will have to switch things up
The good news is that Pocono Raceway offers a lot of opportunities. Although he is going to have to work his way up from the 20s in dirty air and all kinds of mess, Larson should have his chances. Teams can get tricky themselves with strategy and tire calls.
While his team will have to be perfect from here on out, we have seen Larson charge from the rear to salvage a race. He’s even won races coming from the back of the field before. So, we might see some of that driver talent shine for Larson in this Pocono race.
While it was a tough break for Kyle Larson in Stage 2, he will be just fine. Other drivers are focused on picking up points and figuring out how to get a win, if possible.
Something to keep an eye on, Chase Elliott has fought to the top-10 after starting in the rear. Hendrick Motorsports has a few strong cars today. Elliott appears, at the moment, to be among them.