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Kyle Larson carries Hendrick Motorsports with ‘go for broke’ video game move at Darlington...Well you can do it in the game.......If I have to make my car a foot narrower.....

How much will I make if I grind it off versus how much does body work cost???

By
Chase Wilhelm NASCAR.com September 6, 2021 at 12:49 AMDARLINGTON, S.C. — Kyle Larson had nothing to lose.

With a 47-point cushion over the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 16 elimination line heading into Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Larson tried to send it in the final corner in an effort to take the race victory away from Denny Hamlin.

Carrying more speed than normal entering the turn, Larson purposely hit the wall, riding it through Turns 3 and 4 in an effort to reach Hamlin’s back bumper. In what he described as a video-game style move that was reminiscent of Carl Edwards’ attempt for the win against Jimmie Johnson in 2008 at Kansas Speedway, Larson fell just short of passing Hamlin while using up the right side of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“Decided I would try to wall-ride and see what would happen,” Larson said. “He (Hamlin) started running a little bit safer line the last few laps and getting back to diamonding (the corner). I thought if I rode the wall, I could squeeze to his outside and who knows what would have happened after that down the frontstretch. I actually got to his bumper a little too early and he kind of "protected" the wall.”...moved over in front of me....

“It was wild and I hope the fans enjoyed the desperation. Just came one spot short.”

For Larson, the risk was worth the potential reward. A race win would have added to his bonus points bucket. A complete botch wouldn’t have hurt much given the points he earned by winning Stage 2 and finishing second in Stage 1 to kick off the postseason at the 1.366-mile historic oval. A second place was where he was running regardless, so why not try?

RELATED: Playoff standings after Darlington

“Knowing how far above the cutline we were to start the race and finish in the top two in the stages and finishing second there at the end, I knew that I could go for broke a little bit more there the last handful of laps,” Larson said. “I was kind of hitting the wall every lap in (Turns) 3 and 4. I felt like if I got a flat and finished 25th, I was still going to be good in points. I would say I was a little bit more brave because of that.”

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital MediaLarson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, wasn’t totally surprised with his last-lap decision behind the wheel.

“I don’t know that there’s really a better way to look at it than that,” Daniels told NASCAR.com. “He (Larson) knew how many laps were left in the race, so he knew that if he had a flat tire, he could probably ride it out to the end. I’m sure all that was going through his mind.”

Even playoff competitor Martin Truex Jr. took notice of the risky maneuver.

“I was asking him (Larson) if it was Nintendo or PlayStation,” Truex said with a laugh. “He definitely, the wall glue got him. He got stuck to the wall. … He got close. It was a valiant effort.”

Although the No. 5 incurred heavy right-side damage that will take some time to buff out, he still fared far better than his Hendrick Motorsports counterparts. After hitting the wall on Lap 16 and an engine issue before the green flag waved, Alex Bowman only managed a 26th-place finish. Chase Elliott smacked the wall on Lap 327 after contact with Christopher Bell, ending the night for the No. 9 with a finish of 31st. Finally, William Byron’s Lap 200 crash after a left-front inner valve stem was knocked out ended the No. 24 team’s night prematurely, finishing 34th.


Why are sparks under it instead of beside it?

 

Now everyone will want to do it...

 

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Denny Hamlin holds off Larson at Darlington, opens playoffs with Southern 500 victory

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Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service September 5, 2021 at 10:36 PMDARLINGTON, S.C. – Holding off regular-season champion Kyle Larson throughout a thrilling final green-flag run in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin is winless in 2021 no more.

Hamlin maintained control of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Larson buried his No. 5 Chevrolet into Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Larson gave Hamlin a tap, but Hamlin blocked the top lane and got to the finish line .212 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

“He drove it in past the limit of the car and tires,” Hamlin said of Larson’s banzai charge. “I knew he was coming. I was a little conservative on that last lap because I had a whole four-car-length lead.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The victory was Hamlin’s first of the year after a winless 26-race regular season. He won for the fourth time at Darlington and for the 45th time in his career to earn an automatic berth into the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

“Yeah, it was a matter of time,” Hamlin said of the long-awaited win. “We can’t just keep leading inside 10 laps to go every week and not get a win.”

Hamlin kept Larson at bay over the final two restarts but couldn’t pull away to a comfortable lead.

“We got to the white (flag), and I was like, ‘Well, I haven’t been able to gain on him now, I’m going to try something,'” Larson said of the desperation try he labeled a “video-game move.” “Honestly, got to his bumper too quick. I was hoping he was going to run that diamond to kind of be safe and I could skirt to his outside, but gave everything I had.

“I didn’t want to wreck him. I just wanted to try to get to his outside there, but he did a great job not really making any mistakes during the last run, and I was having to push really hard in second to try and just stay with him.”

RELATED: Kyle Larson analyzes his last-lap move | Denny Hamlin reacts to first win of 2021

Larson led 156 of the 367 laps to Hamlin’s 146. Hamlin won the first stage and Larson the second.

Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. caught a break when Ryan Blaney spun in Turn 4 on Lap 318 while the two JGR drivers stayed on the track trying to stretch the cycle of pit stops. Truex beat Hamlin off pit road but was flagged for speeding, and Hamlin held the top spot the rest of the way.

Non-Playoff driver Ross Chastain finished third, followed by Truex, who recovered from the penalty and an earlier loose wheel to run fourth. Playoff drivers Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were fifth through eighth, respectively, but for other title hopefuls, the race brought disaster.

Two-time series champion Kyle Busch suffered an early exit and a blow to his hopes of winning a third title. Contact with the No. 3 Chevrolet of Austin Dillon sent Busch’s No. 18 Toyota rocketing into the outside wall in Turn 2, causing irreparable damage.

Busch fell out in 35th place and now faces an uphill battle to advance to the Round of 12.

“It wasn’t the 3’s (Dillon’s) fault,” Busch said. “Just take our lumps, you know. We were running like (crap), and that’s what you get when you run like (crap). Shouldn’t be there.”

RELATED: Kyle Busch wrecks in Stage 2 | William Byron out after wreck

Three-fourths of the Hendrick Motorsports armada took a major hit as well. Alex Bowman scraped the wall on Lap 14 and stayed on the track, hoping to make it to the competition caution on lap 25. But a tire rub proved disastrous, sending Bowman’s Chevy into the Turn 4 wall, and damage the No. 24 Camaro of teammate William Byron in the process.

Bowman was able to continue and finished 26th, but Byron wasn’t as fortunate. After recovering to run in the top 10, Byron cut a left front tire on Lap 200, crashed hard into the Turn 1 wall and exited the race with a 34th-place finish.

“That was a big hit,” Byron acknowledged. “It looked like on that (previous) pit stop, it looked like we dropped the jack and the left front was still finishing up. I took off and everything felt OK. I went to pass the No. 00 (Quin Houff) or somebody down the frontstretch and was just about to turn into (Turn) 1 and the left front went down.

“There was nothing we could do. The guys did an awesome job to fix it. We were running like top-12, I think, even with all the (earlier) right rear damage, and it’s just terrible. I don’t know, man. That sucks.”

Reigning series champion Chase Elliott fell out in 31st place after slamming the outside wall on Lap 327 in a three-wide melee in Turn 1 with Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell.

RELATED: Chase Elliott hits wall late in race | Michael McDowell exits early

An early wreck put a dagger to Michael McDowell’s slim championship chances. On Lap 31, McDowell’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford broke loose behind Erik Jones’ Chevrolet in Turn 2, smacked the outside wall and careened nose-first into the inside SAFER barrier.

McDowell exited the race, his car destroyed and his title hopes hanging by a thread.

“The 43 (Jones) kind of got everybody jammed up,” McDowell said after exiting the infield care center. “I think he started on the front there without tires, which is a tough spot to be in, and I just went three-wide underneath him and just got into the patch (of new asphalt in Turn 2) with my left sides just a little bit low.

“I got loose enough into the wall and that was about it. I’ll have to see the replay, but just heartbreaking for everybody on this Front Row team. We had high hopes coming into the Playoffs and this is not how we wanted to start it.”

Bowman, Kyle Busch, Byron and McDowell fell below the current cut line for the Round of 12. Elliott leaves Darlington 10th in the Playoff standings.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders, scheduled Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway. Two events remain in the three-race Round of 16, the opening elimination phase of the 10-race postseason.

Note: Post-race inspection confirmed the No. 11 Toyota of Hamlin to be the race winner. There were no issues. The Nos. 3 (Austin Dillon), 4 (Kevin Harvick), 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) and 42 (Ross Chastain) will be brought back to the R&D Center for further inspection and engine dyno. You can stop by on Wednesday and get the boxes of parts...

 

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Denny Hamlin holds off Larson at Darlington, opens playoffs with Southern 500 victory

Hamlin holds off Larson at Darlington DARLINGTON, S.C. – Holding off regular-season champion Kyle Larson throughout a thrilling final green-flag run in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin is winless in 2021 no more. Hamlin maintained control of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Larson buried his No. 5 Chevrolet into Turns 3 and 4 […] Read More

By
Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service September 5, 2021 at 10:36 PMDARLINGTON, S.C. – Holding off regular-season champion Kyle Larson throughout a thrilling final green-flag run in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin is winless in 2021 no more.

Hamlin maintained control of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Larson buried his No. 5 Chevrolet into Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Larson gave Hamlin a tap, but Hamlin blocked the top lane and got to the finish line .212 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

“He drove it in past the limit of the car and tires,” Hamlin said of Larson’s banzai charge. “I knew he was coming. I was a little conservative on that last lap because I had that four-car-length lead.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The victory was Hamlin’s first of the year after a winless 26-race regular season. He won for the fourth time at Darlington and for the 45th time in his career to earn an automatic berth into the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

“Yeah, it was a matter of time,” Hamlin said of the long-awaited win. “We can’t just keep leading inside 10 laps to go every week and not get a win.”

Hamlin kept Larson at bay over the final two restarts but couldn’t pull away to a comfortable lead.

“We got to the white (flag), and I was like, ‘Well, I haven’t been able to gain on him now, I’m going to try something,'” Larson said of the desperation try he labeled a “video-game move.” “Honestly, got to his bumper too quick. I was hoping he was going to run that diamond to kind of be safe and I could skirt to his outside, but gave everything I had.

“I didn’t want to wreck him. I just wanted to try to get to his outside there, but he did a great job not really making any mistakes during the last run, and I was having to push really hard in second to try and just stay with him.”

RELATED: Kyle Larson analyzes his last-lap move | Denny Hamlin reacts to first win of 2021

Larson led 156 of the 367 laps to Hamlin’s 146. Hamlin won the first stage and Larson the second.

Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. caught a break when Ryan Blaney spun in Turn 4 on Lap 318 while the two JGR drivers stayed on the track trying to stretch the cycle of pit stops. Truex beat Hamlin off pit road but was flagged for speeding, and Hamlin held the top spot the rest of the way.

Non-Playoff driver Ross Chastain finished third, followed by Truex, who recovered from the penalty and an earlier loose wheel to run fourth. Playoff drivers Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were fifth through eighth, respectively, but for other title hopefuls, the race brought disaster.

Two-time series champion Kyle Busch suffered an early exit and a blow to his hopes of winning a third title. Contact with the No. 3 Chevrolet of Austin Dillon sent Busch’s No. 18 Toyota rocketing into the outside wall in Turn 2, causing irreparable damage.

Busch fell out in 35th place and now faces an uphill battle to advance to the Round of 12.

“It wasn’t the 3’s (Dillon’s) fault,” Busch said. “Just take our lumps, you know. We were running like (crap), and that’s what you get when you run like (crap). Shouldn’t be there.”

RELATED: Kyle Busch wrecks in Stage 2 | William Byron out after wreck

Three-fourths of the Hendrick Motorsports armada took a major hit as well. Alex Bowman scraped the wall on Lap 14 and stayed on the track, hoping to make it to the competition caution on lap 25. But a tire rub proved disastrous, sending Bowman’s Chevy into the Turn 4 wall, and damage the No. 24 Camaro of teammate William Byron in the process.

Bowman was able to continue and finished 26th, but Byron wasn’t as fortunate. After recovering to run in the top 10, Byron cut a left front tire on Lap 200, crashed hard into the Turn 1 wall and exited the race with a 34th-place finish.

“That was a big hit,” Byron acknowledged. “It looked like on that (previous) pit stop, it looked like we dropped the jack and the left front was still finishing up. I took off and everything felt OK. I went to pass the No. 00 (Quin Houff) or somebody down the frontstretch and was just about to turn into (Turn) 1 and the left front went down.

“There was nothing we could do. The guys did an awesome job to fix it. We were running like top-12, I think, even with all the (earlier) right rear damage, and it’s just terrible. I don’t know, man. That sucks.”

Reigning series champion Chase Elliott fell out in 31st place after slamming the outside wall on Lap 327 in a three-wide melee in Turn 1 with Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell.

RELATED: Chase Elliott hits wall late in race | Michael McDowell exits early

An early wreck put a dagger to Michael McDowell’s slim championship chances. On Lap 31, McDowell’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford broke loose behind Erik Jones’ Chevrolet in Turn 2, smacked the outside wall and careened nose-first into the inside SAFER barrier.

McDowell exited the race, his car destroyed and his title hopes hanging by a thread.

“The 43 (Jones) kind of got everybody jammed up,” McDowell said after exiting the infield care center. “I think he started on the front there without tires, which is a tough spot to be in, and I just went three-wide underneath him and just got into the patch (of new asphalt in Turn 2) with my left sides just a little bit low.

“I got loose enough into the wall and that was about it. I’ll have to see the replay, but just heartbreaking for everybody on this Front Row team. We had high hopes coming into the Playoffs and this is not how we wanted to start it.”

Bowman, Kyle Busch, Byron and McDowell fell below the current cut line for the Round of 12. Elliott leaves Darlington 10th in the Playoff standings.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders, scheduled Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway. Two events remain in the three-race Round of 16, the opening elimination phase of the 10-race postseason.

Note: Post-race inspection confirmed the No. 11 Toyota of Hamlin to be the race winner. There were no issues. The Nos. 3 (Austin Dillon), 4 (Kevin Harvick), 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) and 42 (Ross Chastain) will be brought back to the R&D Center for further inspection and engine dyno. You can stop by on Wednesday and get the boxes of parts...

 

Larson comes up short after last-gasp move at Darlington

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | September 6, 2021 12:24 AM ET

Kyle Larson admitted he pulled a video game move in the final corners at Darlington Raceway to try and grab the race win from Denny Hamlin in the Southern 500.

“Basically,” Larson said. “I was stuck at gap behind him for the last 15 laps or so and wasn’t going to get to his bumper, or I wasn’t going to be able to run the bottom and get to his inside and race him that way, so decided I would try and wall ride and see what would happen.

“He started running a little bit safer line the last few laps and getting back to diamonding (the corner), so I thought if I rode the wall, I could squeeze to his outside, and who knows what would have happened after that down the frontstretch. But I actually got to his bumper a little bit too early, and then he protected the wall and did a good job. Yeah, it was wild. I hope the fans enjoyed the desperation. Just came up one spot short.”

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Larson drove his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet deep into Turns 3 and 4 and hit the wall. He succeeded in getting to Hamlin’s bumper but could only shove Hamlin forward with his car stuck to the barrier.

“He kind of did pull down, and I tried to throttle up to get to his outside, but my car was broken by then and plowing,” said Larson. “It was just wild.”

Hamlin won the race, and Larson managed to drive his car across the finish line. And while Larson was able to get the car back to pit road after the checkered flag, the severely damaged machine needed the assistance of a tow truck hook to get back into the garage.

Larson led a race-high 157 laps and won the second stage. Between running well during the race and being the No. 1 seed with a nice cushion on the cutline, Larson acknowledged that his comfortable points position played into his go-for-broke mentality over the final few laps.

“I was obviously hitting the wall kind of every lap in (Turns) 3 and 4,” he said. “I felt like if I got a flat and finished 25th, I was still going to be good in points. I would say I was a little more brave because of that.”

Hamlin took control of the race when his teammate Martin Truex Jr. was penalized for speeding on pit road with just under 50 laps to go. At that point, Larson knew it would be difficult to find his way around Hamlin, although he was surprised he stayed as close to him as he did when the race restarted for the final time with 36 laps to go.

“I thought he would pull away, but I was able to stay close to him and try to make something out of it,” Larson said.

While Larson’s move didn’t result in the race win, it still panned out well.

“Here, you already enter so close to the wall, so you only have to move up a little bit more, and I was carrying more speed,” Larson said. “It worked out way nice… When you’re entering inches off the wall, and you’re planning on doing it, it’s basically like a video game. It’s smooth; you’re just rubbing the wall and carrying a lot of throttle.”

“I knew as long as I didn’t spin or anything, which I didn’t think that I would, I knew I would finish second,” Larson continued. “Because like I said, we’re already running this close (pinches fingers together) to the wall all the way around the corner anyways. So, if something went wrong, I could just pin it against the wall down the straightaway. I knew at worse I was going to come out second.”