Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson dropped from contention Sunday afternoon after a crash with Shane van Gisbergen at EchoPark Speedway.
Larson was running third in Sunday’s Autotrader 400 on the final lap of Stage 2 when he dove low with his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the path of van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevy. The contact at the Turn 4 exit sent Larson’s car spinning into the outside wall on the frontstretch, leaving it with heavy damage.
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From there, their fortunes were split. Van Gisbergen continued after repairs to salvage a sixth-place finish, his best oval-track result in the Cup Series. Larson, however, tumbled outside the top 30 after his car was towed to the garage for more extensive work before No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels called it a day.
“Well, it’s just more so frustrating because it was on me,” Larson said, absorbing the blame after his evaluation at the track’s infield care center. “You know, typically I get caught up in I feel like others’ mistakes on these style tracks, but that was completely my fault. So that’s what’s embarrassing and frustrating, and just glad nobody else, I don’t think, got taken out in it, too.”
Larson finished 32nd — 111 laps short of the full distance — and he was one of 13 drivers who were not running at the finish. Larson led 48 laps, second only to eventual race winner Tyler Reddick.
Van Gisbergen spun again 40 laps later in the same area of the 1.54-mile circuit, but recovered to finish with a remarkable top-10 outcome in double overtime. SVG is a six-time Cup Series winner on road courses, but the sixth-place result was his career best (in 52 starts) on an oval.
