INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson made a late charge through the field, managed to get his car refired after a red flag and won the final two restart battles Sunday before coasting to his first Brickyard 400 victory under caution.
Larson took the lead when Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel and pulled off the track just before the second-to-last restart and beat pole winner Tyler Reddick at the end with the yellow flag out.
“Today was definitely meant to be for us with the way the strategy was working out and all that fell into place,” Larson said. “Thankfully, it did. I just can’t believe it. It’s just surreal to win here.”
Larson won in his first trip back to the speedway since he tried to become the fifth driver to complete 1,100 miles of racing on the same May day, at Indy and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Larson won for the fourth time this season and took the points lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.
The 31-year-old Californian charged back from 12th over the final 32 laps as many drivers attempted to save fuel in the first Cup race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s historic 2.5-mile oval since 2020, with the last three being run on the facility’s 14-turn road course.
Larson has won three of NASCAR’s crown jewel races, missing only the Daytona 500. And his return to Indy was every bit as exciting as it was in May.
When Keselowski pulled off the track before taking the green flag with three to go, he ceded the inside lane to Larson, who take advantage of a clean shot to pass Ryan Blaney’s second-place car just before a five-car pileup that began when Daniel Hemric and John Henry Nemechek made contact.
The crash brought out the red flag and Larson needed an assist in getting his No. 5 Chevrolet stated. Once he did, though, he again had the inside lane, and again beat Blaney off the restart and held on for the victory.
“That’s a heartbreaker. We did everything right today,” said Blaney, who was upset that Larson essentially went from third into the line Keselowski had chosen to restart. “He was in prime position to win and it just didn’t work out for us.”
Denny Hamlin won the first stage, his first ever at Indianapolis, and Bubba Wallace took the second stage, giving him 10 points as he tries to make the playoffs. It was Wallace’s first stage win since 2022.
Blaney wound up third, Elliott was fourth and Todd Gilliland was fifth.
The race was scheduled to be broadcast on NBC, but viewers who tuned into the network found something else — breaking news about President Joe Biden withdrawing from the presidential race.
NBC made the decision to briefly switch the telecast to USA Network, which also covered some of the weekend’s festivities then went back to Cup coverage at the start of the race. The race also finished on USA Network after the red flag stoppage, again because of the breaking news.
Before the race, speedway owner Roger Penske and PPG announced they have extended and expanded their partnership for both the Cup and IndyCar Series.
PPG will continue to serve as the presenting sponsor of the Brickyard 400, as the paint and finishing supplier for the speedway and as a sponsor for all six Team Penske drivers — Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden and Will Power on the IndyCar side as well as Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano on the Cup side.
The partnership between PPG and Penske began in 1984.
NASCAR takes next two weeks off as part of its Olympics break. The first of the final six races will be held Aug. 11 at Richmond, with a new tire compound.
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AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
