AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyle Larson climbed from his No. 5 Chevrolet with a look down on his face, pitting around the 34th-place finish line at Phoenix Raceway, after a flat front right tire caused him to hit the wall.
Six weeks of excellence in NASCAR sports had ended in the space of a few miserable hours in the desert on Sunday.
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Even before the tire mishap, Larson struggled at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday’s 22nd qualifying. No one was better at the race, limping around the three-oval mile on the back of the pack before a flat tire that almost seemed like a merciful end.
Tyler Reddick won his sixth victory of the season at Phoenix. Ryan Blaney finished second, Chase Elliott finished third, and Christopher Bell was fourth.
“I didn’t expect it to be good, but I didn’t expect it to be bad either,” Larson said. “Not much fun today, but we were just looking for something that could save the day. We’ll go to Talladega and try to forget about today and come back after it. I did well on the superspeedways, so I hope we can execute, get some points and keep us in the hunt.”
Forget about Sunday’s miserable performance, it might be easier said than done, but it would be foolish to say that Larson’s hunt for a third Cup Series championship is over.
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The Hendrick Motorsports team still has a 5 point lead over Bell heading into Talladega next weekend. Briscoe is in third, 24 points back, with Denny Hamlin (31), Blaney (40), Joey Logano (44) and Reddick (56) still in the hunt with three races to go — mostly because Larson had such a bad day.
Free case no. 5 was just as eye-catching as the previous dominance in the NASCAR season. His average finish of 2.83 was the best pace in the first six national postseason since the “Chase” was introduced in 2004. He won two races and finished second in two others.
The star run was similar to Jimmie Johnson’s peak in the 2000s.
But most of that moment is gone. This is to figure out what went wrong in the garage.
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“I did well on the superspeeds, so hopefully we can execute, take some points and keep us in the hunt,” said Larson.
Who is rising?
Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota at Talladega has a new and found moment. His team had four of the 24 hottest cars in the sport in his first year, winning four of the first six races of the season, but he had a big break over the summer.
He’s back in the title hunt — though not a shot for much longer.
“We just had to show, stay focused on the details,” Reddick said. “We’ve done a good job of just fighting through what’s needed to work today, as the right calls at the right time.”
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Briscoe is still so elusive as he has back-to-back wins in Las Vegas and Charlotte has brought him back into contention. Hamlin — who is still seeking his first Cup Series championship — finished 28th in Phoenix after another bout of bad luck with a flat tire and then a speeding violation on pit road while struggling to control the car.
The No. 11 Toyota still finished ahead of the points race, although it fell from second to fourth at the station.
Blaney and Logano are running well in Phoenix for Joe Gibbs Racing and have plenty of confidence heading into Talladega. And then there’s Bell, who finished fourth in the heat and is now just 5 points behind Larson.
Buckle up. NASCAR season is open.
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“It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure,” Bell said. “We’re right in it. Really proud of our team. They did a really good job of sending the race cars fast, training races. We were able to control it well and run at the front step by step.”
Toyota continues to excel
Toyota clinched its best season by winning the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship after just 18 races this season. It is Toyota’s first manufacturers’ title and most unique season wins since 2019.
Toyota has five of the top nine drivers in playoff positions, including Bell at No. 2, Briscoe to No. 3, Hamlin at No. 4, Reddick at No. 7 and Ty Gibbs at No. 9. Bubba Wallace is 12th.
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