It’s a good thing Kyle Larson has already punched his ticket for the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 to compete in the Championship 4, because a bizarre wreck at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 22nd, 2023 relegated him to a 34th-place finish.
Locked in a battle for the lead with Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Ford Mustang, Larson elected to pit. He came in behind Blaney, who was leading at the time, and had to swerve to avoid the bumper of the No. 12 Mustang. The maneuver caused Larson to strike the barrels at the end of Pit Road, spraying sand onto the racing surface and resulting in a red flag while track crews attended to the mess.
The No. 5 NASCAR Chevy was critically damaged in the impact, and after making several pit stops in an attempt to correct it, Larson ultimately retired from the race.
“I was just maximizing all I could,” Larson said. “I didn’t expect him to slow down so early… from my vantage point, it slowed down a lot. From [the replay], it looks like I just bombed it in there. I need to look at some data and see where I was relative to Pit Road speed.”
Meanwhile, Christopher Bell put the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry across the line in first, securing his slot in the Championship 4. The best-performing NASCAR Chevy team was that of William Byron, whose No. 24 Camaro crossed the line in fourth after leading 25 laps.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Rheem/Watts Toyota | 267 | 26 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 2 | 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Duracell Ford | 267 | 53 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | McDonald's Toyota | 267 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 7 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Liberty University Chevrolet | 267 | 25 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 25 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Campers Inn RV Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 2 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 267 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 7 | 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 267 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 36 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 30 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 22 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Budweiser Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 26 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 13 | 29 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 19 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | Hooters Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 14 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway.com Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 21 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Magical Vacation Planner Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 18 | 8 | Kyle Busch | 3CHI Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 12 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Koker's Garage Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 20 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 17 | 17 | Chris Buescher (P) | Fastenal Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's/Fleetguard Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 27 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFIlter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Raze Shot Focus Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 32 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Serial1.com E-Bikes Ford | 266 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 34 | 51 | Ryan Newman(i) | Jacob Companies Ford | 265 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 23 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Boost by Kroger/Vitaminwater Chevrolet | 263 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 262 | 16 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 237 | 10 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 30 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 236 | 31 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 31 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Kubota Chevrolet | 221 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 24 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 31 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | IFCJ.org Ford | 218 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 214 | 96 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 35 | 78 | Josh Bilicki(i) | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 201 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 28 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 165 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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Comments
Honest, admitted mistake from a guy just trying to get everything out of the car. Blaney, as much as I like him, is a guy you don’t want in the Final 4 at Phoenix if you’re Kyle. Hope the 5 and Team Chevy can pull it off.
Travis, your absoutley right about Larson NOT want Blaney in the final 4!! Been watching Blaney for several year & he has a great team, also watched his Dad Dave race WOO for many years, even saw him at Ascot in Gardena! Reallt miss Ascot, was only a walk from my house!
Dave
Sometimes it seems like Kyle is the only one that can beat him. That was a big self inflicted screw-up. Hope he wins another championship.