Larson was a dominant force from the very start, leading 80 laps from pole position and winning the first stage. He was hoping to become the first driver to score four wins this year, but he never got the chance.
At the end of Lap 219 of 350, Larson forced it three-wide up the middle on a chaotic restart. He had Brad Keselowski to his outside and Daniel Suarez to his inside as they raced out of Turn 4.
Suarez, who had only taken two right-side tires on the previous stop, pushed up the track and tagged the left-rear of Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Larson overcorrected and slammed into Denny Hamlin for impacting the outside wall.
“I haven’t seen the replay yet, but I guess I could have not gone to the middle (lane) and been more patient knowing how fast my car was and knowing who I was around,” Larson said after the race. “I wanted to get as many cars as I could in the beginning of that run (from the back of the field). It probably just ended up biting me.
“I had room. I mean I made it to the exit of the corner and I’m not sure if Suarez got loose underneath me or what happened. But he got into my left-rear and kind got me out of control.”
Larson was penalized two laps after HMS sent too many crew members over the wall to repair the car. He was able to meet minimum speed but eventually took his car to the garage for more extensive repairs. He returned to the race over 30 laps down, ultimately finishing 34th, 34 laps behind the race leader.
The result cost him the regular season points lead, now trailing team-mate Chase Elliott by 8pts.
While Larson limped his car to the finish, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney led over 200 laps and captured the checkered flag. The three remaining Hendrick drivers all finished in the top-ten with with William Byron second and Elliott third.
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