The #42 rear window support appeared to be sagging at Kansas Speedway; Larson comments
On Saturday night, Kyle Larson was the lone Chevrolet to be a part of the race for the win at Kansas Speedway. Larson started at the tail of the field after spinning out in qualifying. He was forced to pit on new tires which is an unapproved adjustment that sent him to the tail for the start.
But, Kyle Larson made that all but irrelevant. By the conclusion of stage 1, he climbed all the way into the top 5.
By stage 2, Kyle Larson found the top spot on the field. He went on to win stage 2.
However, in stage 3 Larson had a few issues. First, Larson and Harvick traded a little paint at they raced across the start-finish line for the lead of the race. Minor damage, if any and Harvick won that battle.
Next was Ryan Blaney for 2nd. With about 20 laps to go in the race, Blaney was side-drafting Larson at the start finish line. Blaney ran through the middle of the race track, under Larson. That forced Larson well out of the racing groove which is on the bottom or under the white line through the tri-oval.
Instead, Larson was a car length off the outside wall as Blaney refused to let him down the hill. Larson pushed back to claim some of the road on the race track. They made contact a few times, Blaney cut a tire, slammed the wall and exited the race.
“He can only run me up so high,” Larson said over the radio following the incident with Blaney.
“That was my fault,” Blaney said after leaving the infield care center.
Larson went on the hold on for a 4th place run. However, on the pit lane after the race the rear window of Larson’s car caught the attention of NASCAR. They selected Larson’s #42 to join the series officials at the NASCAR R&D Center this week.
“Oh, definitely because I didn’t have it until after Blaney and I got together,” Larson said. “So, I’m glad to see that we have a lot of damage back there because obviously if there was no damage back there we would probably get a penalty, and who knows, we might still.
“But I’ve got a ton of damage back there. These cars are pretty rigid and one piece of damage can affect the whole rest of the car, as you can see. So, we’ll what NASCAR says about it, but I think it’s pretty obvious that we have a ton of damage back there.”
“We just had a really good car tonight; our Clover Chevrolet was fast,” said Larson. “I always run pretty good here at Kansas, so it was nice to lead some laps.”
“I thought we were going to have a really good shot to win there, and Kevin [Harvick] was able to get to my outside. I was tight in traffic there then Blaney was side-drafting really hard and I was as high as I could get and we made contact.
“I hate that we didn’t turn today into a win, but it’s satisfying to see how much speed our car had tonight. And it’s definitely good to show that Chevy has a lot of speed, at least in the 42 team.”
“So, we’ll just keep working hard and try to get it as fast as the 4. I thought myself, the 4 and the 12 were all pretty equal tonight. It was kind of just whoever got out in clean air and could get to the top quick enough would be the fastest throughout the run. It was a fun race but a little bit disappointing there in the last 20 laps.”
In recent months, NASCAR has set the standard for rear window enforcement. First, Kevin Harvick was penalized with a dropping window at Las Vegas.
Last week, two teams were hit with rear window penalties at Dover International Speedway. Both Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez were docked 20 points with crew chiefs fined $50,000.
20.4.8.1.b: “Installed rear window braces and supports must keep the rear window glass rigid in all directions, at all times and all NASCAR templates must fit correctly.”
NASCAR generally issues penalties on Tuesday or Wednesday following the R&D Center inspection.
More
Related: Daniel Suarez says his rear window failed inspection due to a bumpy race track
Related: Kevin Harvick hit with L1 penalty for window bracing
Related: Kevin Harvick wants to see NASCAR rule with an iron fist
Related: NASCAR is looking at things that could potentially remove the R&D Center inspection
Related: Kansas Speedway Race Results: May 12, 2018
Related: Dover Race Results: May 6, 2018
Links
Kyle Larson | Kansas Speedway | NASCAR
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