INDIANAPOLIS - Kyle Larson walked home with a fourth-place finish Saturday afternoon after rebounding from an incident late in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Larson started the race in 19th and worked his way up to eighth at the end of stage one. A fast pit stop allowed him to restart sixth in stage two, which he then converted into a third-place finish at the end of the stage.
With the threat of weather possibly cutting the race short, pit stops became crucial, however Larson's pit crew did not fold under the pressure. His car was serviced so fast, that he was able to leapfrog Connor Zilisch into second, giving him a front row starting spot alongside Justin Allgaier for stage three.
Larson powered around Allgaier on the outside of turn one and pulled away before a multicar wreck froze the field. After an extended caution period due to a looming storm sitting adjacent to the speedway, the pace car peeled off into pit road once the governing body deemed it was safe to return to racing.
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Desperation was the name of the game as many believed precipitation would cause the next restart to be the last. Once the green flag was waved, Allgaier jumped Larson getting onto the back stretch but was unable to create a gap. Larson kept close, but a yellow flag was displayed for a small rain shower on the pit lane before he could retake the lead.
The rain stopped shortly after, and the field went green again with 15 circuits left in the race. Larson and Allgaier stayed side by side through the first two corners before making contact in turn two. Allgaier lost grip and hit the wall while Larson had to get out of the throttle to keep his car pointing in the right direction.
Zilisch took advantage of the situation and moved his car into the lead as Larson fell down into sixth. He got his lucky break when a wreck with 10 circuits left allowed him to catch up to the frontrunners.
After a brief red flag, the field got rolling again and restarted with four laps remaining. Larson got to work, moving past Sheldon Creed and Ryan Seig as the field raced to the checkered flag. He ended the day in fourth.
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Zilisch won the Xfinity race today at Indianapolis.
Here is a look at the finishing results:
NASCAR Xfinity Series race results:
- Connor Zilisch, No. 88
- Sam Mayer, No. 41
- Taylor Gray, No. 54
- Kyle Larson, No. 17 #H1100 Chevrolet
- Ryan Sieg, No. 39
- William Sawalich, No 18
- Sammy Smith, No. 8
- Daniel Dye, No. 10
- Jesse Love, No. 2
- Dean Thompson, No. 26
- Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99
- Jermey Clements, No. 51
- Christian Eckes, No. 16
- Parker Retzlaff, No. 4
- Jeb Burton, No. 27
- Kyle Seig, No. 28
- Sheldon Creed, No. 00
- Harrison Burton, No. 25
- Josh Bilicki, No. 91
- Brennan Poole, No. 44
- Ryan Ellis, No. 71
- Josh Williams, No. 11
- Anthony Alfredo, No. 42
- Mason Massey, No. 45
- Garrett Smithley, No. 14
- Leland Honeyman, No. 70
- Blaine Perkins, No. 31
- Joey Gase, No. 53
- David Starr, No. 35
- Carson Kvapil, No. 1
- Dawson Cram, No. 74
- Brandon Jones, No. 20
- Nick Sanchez, No. 48
- Austin Hill, No. 21
- Aric Almirola, No. 19
- Justin Allgaier, No. 7
- Katherine Legge, No. 32
- Logan Bearden, No. 07
NASCAR on TV this weekend
(All times listed in eastern time)
Sunday, July 27
- 2 p.m. - Cup Series race, TNT
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Where is NASCAR racing this weekend?
This week, the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series are racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and ARCA series visit Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Where is IRP?
Indianapolis Raceway Park is in Brownsburg, Indiana.