Larson came into the day 18 points above the cutline, but a clean race was all he needed. It all came apart on lap 103.
Jared C. TiltonGetty ImagesReigning champion Kyle Larson will not be defending his NASCAR Cup series title this season. That was perhaps the biggest shocker that emerged when the smoke cleared from a wild, chaotic finish that saw the Hendrick Motorsports driver among those eliminated from this year’s Playoff field.
Larson came into the day 18 points above the cutline, precarious perhaps, a little uncomfortable, but a clean race was all he needed, and he would live to fight another day.
It all came apart on lap 103, just six circuits away from the finish on the 2.280-mile hybrid road course known as the ROVAL.
Larson hit the wall and had to pit with a broken toe link on his Chevy. By the time he rejoined the field, Larson was five laps down but still clinging to the final Playoff spot. There would be another crash, not involving Larson directly, but that set up an overtime finish.
When the dust settled, Christopher Bell, who came into the race 11th in the standings, won, and Chase Briscoe was able to score a top 10 finish, eliminating Larson.
“I mean, you give up that many spots, you know you’re going to be close,” a visibly dejected Larson said. “Then the caution there. So, yeah, I just made way too many mistakes all year long. Made another one today. Ultimately cost us an opportunity to go chase another championship.
Bell celebrates at Charlotte.
Jared C. TiltonGetty Images
“Just extremely mad at myself. You let the team down a number of times this year and let them down in a big way today.”
The elimination leaves Jimmie Johnson as the last champion to repeat.
“We’ll keep fighting,” Larson said. “We’ll come back stronger. I’ll definitely come back stronger and smarter, make better moves out there.”
This year’s Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric was also knocked out, spinning out on the final lap and finishing 21st. Cindric was put in the perilous position in points when his crew chief decided to short pit his driver prior to the end of a Stage giving up Stage points that could have made all the difference.
“There at the end. I needed one or two points,” Cindric said. “That one or two points we thought we were going to get, we had some cars we probably didn’t anticipate staying out in stage two that we didn’t think their priority was going to be stage points.
“Miscommunication or a bad call, whatever you want to call it. It’s tough when it is that one or two spot and you’re relying on other guys to make decisions that benefit you.
“That’s the way it goes.”
Daniel Suarez had a less dramatic downfall. He began suffering power steering issues about lap 66 and fought his Chevy the rest of the race. The team tried to make repairs, but it was all for naught. Suarez finished 36th five laps down and went from 12 points above the cutline to being eliminated.
Recovering from a crash at Texas, Alex Bowman sat out Sunday’s race and was the first driver eliminated, even before the field took the green flag.
Keyword: Reigning Champ Kyle Larson Bows from NASCAR Cup Playoff