Kyle Larson finished a respectable ninth and second in the doubleheader at Pocono Raceway. But given the standard that he has set for himself, it must seem like a disappointment.
Larson headed to Pocono with four consecutive race wins, including the NASCAR All-Star race. He was very close to his fifth consecutive win, leading the final lap but he cut a tire and hit the wall. This allowed his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman to get past him and win the race, while Larson finished ninth.
“Just can’t see the checkered right now” – Hamlin frustrated with lack of win
In the second race of the doubleheader, Larson had to start at the rear as the No. 5 team moved to a backup car. Nonetheless, Larson moved up the field and was challenging for the win in the final stage. While he finished second in the race, Larson was happy with the race.
“It’s surprising finish for us. Our (car) was really loose for a majority of the race, then we got a lot of nose damage there on one of the restarts,” Larson said. “Was off on speed, I felt like, after that.
“Cliff and everybody did a really, really good job managing the race, coached me through saving fuel there at the end. Was hoping that (Busch) was going to run out. I saw (Hamlin) running out. I was like, ‘Okay, they’re teammates, they got to be close to running out.’
“I thought we would be outside of the top-20. A lot of points throughout the race today; we’ll take it. Happy about the effort for sure all weekend.”
Even on an off night, Larson managed to finish second in the race. It shows the standard that Larson has set this season.
“Seemed like every point of the race, everything that happened in the race, nothing went my way,” he said.
“Restarts, just guys messing up in front of me, me getting shuffled out of the groove, bad lane choices on my part – everything didn’t go my way.”
Larson is currently second in the Series standings, behind Denny Hamlin by only two points.