Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, spent quite a bit of time leading the pack at Richmond Raceway on March 31st, 2024, but late-race contact with not one, but two Toyota competitors ruined his shot at the win.
Larson led for 144 laps, often chasing the No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry of Martin Truex Jr. when he wasn’t running first. Larson’s No. 5 NASCAR Chevy team performed flawlessly on Pit Road, giving him the edge during several restarts. However, toward the end of the race, Larson’s No. 5 Camaro faded a bit and put him in harm’s way.
With just two laps left, Larson was tagged by the No. 23 Camry of Bubba Wallace, sending the No. 5 Camaro spinning into the infield grass. Larson was able to gather his race car up and only lost two spots, rejoining the pack just behind the leaders for the NASCAR Overtime finish.
Then, on the final restart, Larson made contact with Truex, slowing both race cars and allowing Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry to take off with the lead to win. Truex showed his frustration after the race, slamming into Larson’s No. 5 NASCAR Chevy several times after the checkered flag waved.
“Martin [Truex Jr.], I don’t know if his spotter didn’t say that I was inside of him or what, but he just hung a left and hit my right-front, had me up on the apron and then turned left on me down the middle of the backstretch,” Larson said. “So I kind of just, we’re drag-racing to the start/finish line and didn’t really care at that point if I was going to squeeze him in the wall since he decided to turn left on me down the backstretch. So I think, ultimately, he’s just mad at Denny [Hamlin], and I was the closest guy to him to take some anger out on.”
Larson ultimately finished third. Chase Elliott was the next-best NASCAR Chevy team, bringing the No. 9 Camaro home fifth, and William Byron’s No. 24 Camaro finished seventh, the only other Bow Tie team inside the top 10.
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota | 407 | 17 | Toyota TRD Camry |
2 | 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
3 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 407 | 144 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
4 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota | 407 | 228 | Toyota TRD Camry |
5 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | UniFirst Chevrolet | 407 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
6 | 29 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Mobil 1 Toyota | 407 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
7 | 13 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 407 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
8 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
9 | 14 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Nexletol Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
10 | 19 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | SiriusXM Toyota | 407 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
11 | 30 | 4 | Josh Berry # | SunnyD Ford | 407 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
12 | 17 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Superior Essex Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
13 | 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 407 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
14 | 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | Dollar Tree Toyota | 407 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
15 | 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Busch Light Chevrolet | 407 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
16 | 8 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 407 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
17 | 4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 407 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
18 | 32 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
19 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Duracell Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
20 | 15 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet | 407 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
21 | 6 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | FARXIGA(dapagliflozin) Ford | 407 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
22 | 20 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Quaker State Chevrolet | 407 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
23 | 9 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Discount Tire Ford | 406 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
24 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | 406 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
25 | 18 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Safeway Toyota | 406 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
26 | 31 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Long John Silver's Ford | 406 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
27 | 25 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Delaware Life Chevrolet | 406 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
28 | 16 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 406 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
29 | 33 | 16 | Ty Dillon(i) | Chevy Accessories Chevrolet | 406 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
30 | 34 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | LA Golf Chevrolet | 405 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
31 | 35 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | N29 Capital Partners Ford | 405 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
32 | 36 | 51 | Justin Haley | Walmart Health & Wellness Ford | 405 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
33 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet | 405 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
34 | 26 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 405 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
35 | 28 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Focused Health Chevrolet | 404 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
36 | 21 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 404 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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