Larson Fights Through Chaos For Top Five At Michigan

Kyle Larson (5) leads a pack of cars Sunday at Michigan Int'l Speedway. (HHP/Blake Harris photo)

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson overcame voltage issues, speeding on pit road, and a run-in with another competitor to score a top-five finish in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

Before the final caution with 55 laps to go, when Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland cut a left rear tire and crashed in turn two, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion had radioed to crew chief Cliff Daniels that the voltage on his No. 5 HendrickCars Chevrolet was down to 12.7 volts.

Larson then shut off all of his driver cooling fans to allow the car to complete the final 110 miles.

The race restarted with 49 laps to go, just on the outer edge of the fuel mileage window. Larson maximized his fuel economy, getting about six miles per gallon compared to Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and Hendrick’s William Byron in first and second.

"Early in the run, I was actually surprised with how easy it was to save fuel and kind of stay attached to the No. 77 (Hocevar) and the No. 24 (Byron),” Larson said. “I thought I was in good shape there and I was hopeful that I had a big enough gap from the group behind us that maybe we could maintain that gap; those guys would run out of fuel in front of me and we could win.

“But they were charging hard, and my balance wasn’t very good.”

That hard charging eventually cost Hocevar when he cut a left rear tire with 19 to go. While his No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet limped to pit road, Byron and Larson inherited first and second.

Larson didn’t remain in second for long. As the handling shifted on his car, he faded, falling behind RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher; eventual winner Denny Hamlin, who went on to become the winningest driver in Joe Gibbs Racing history; Ty Gibbs; and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace.

“I really faded there with 12 laps or so to go, so because of the balance being bad, I could save more fuel naturally,” Larson explained. “I just kind of had to nurse it home from there.”

Compounding the varied day for the Elk Grove, Calif., native was a pit road speeding penalty during the third caution of the race on lap 68. Despite a caution-filled second stage, Larson was unable to climb back into the top 10 to earn points.

The climb up the running order also featured a run-in with Kaulig Racing’s Ty Dillon. The 32-year-old squeezed Dillon’s No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet into the outside wall exiting turn four on lap 105.

Lewisville, N.C., native Dillon chased Larson down the track and onto the apron. Dillon later showed some of his displeasure under caution as well. But Larson weathered the brief storm and continued his march towards the front.

While Larson admitted that days like the one he had in Michigan are not fun, they still contain positives due to his rebound and end result.

“We didn’t have a good No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet today, but we still got a top-five finish out of it,” Larson stated. “I’m happy about the effort and hopefully we can have some more speed these next coming weeks and just run in the top five more often.

“Days like today aren’t the most fun, but at the same time, they feel really good, too. Proud of the whole team. I wish we could have gotten a win for Chevrolet today, but we’ll have to try again next year.”

The top-five finish allowed Larson to close the gap to his teammate, and regular season points leader, Byron. Forty-one points separate the two drivers for the regular season championship, and the crucial playoff point bonuses, with 11 races remaining before the playoffs.

Next for Larson, and the rest of the Cup Series, is a first-ever trip to Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Viva Mexico 250.

Broadcast coverage for the international event is scheduled for Sunday, June 15 at 3 p.m. ET, live on Prime Video, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.