Larson spins from third at Chicagoland, falls multiple laps down

Kyle Larson spun inside the top five early in Stage 2 of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway and fell multiple laps down after getting stuck in the grass. Running in third moments after a restart, Larson lost control in a single-car incident, keeping his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ride off the Turn 4 wall and coming to rest in the tri-oval ballfield. RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Chicagoland But due to excess rain in the area, Larson was unable to motor out of the wet grass. Safety trucks came to his assistance and pulled Larson out of the muck with the help of a long tow strap. With four flat Goodyear tires, Larson also needed a push to begin rolling as his Chevrolet was not equipped with an air jack system to assist in similar situations. Larson limped back around the race track to pit road and suffered damage to the underbody of his machine, falling two laps down. The two-time Cup Series champion never recovered. He took the wave around at the next caution to gain one lap back, but fell another lap down on the final laps of Stage 2. That put him in position for the free pass, but with 63 laps to go, Larson again lost a lap to the leaders and finished 34th. Entering Sunday's race on a streak of four consecutive top-five finishes, Larson's winless drought now extends to 43 races, dating back to last spring at Kansas Speedway. He dropped one spot in points to sixth, 181 markers behind series leader Denny Hamlin.