NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle Larson victorious, Tyler Reddick disappointed at Fontana

Updated Feb. 28, 2022 12:02 a.m. ET

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

FONTANA, Calif. — New car, same Kyle Larson.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion won in just the second race of 2022, the first season with NASCAR’s new Next Gen car, as he showed that it doesn’t matter what version of car he drives — he can drive it fast and to the front.

FINAL LAPS: Kyle Larson holds off Austin Dillon and claims victory at Fontana

Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson holds off Austin Dillon and claims victory in Fontana!

Starting from the rear of the field because of an ignition issue found during morning checks that required the Hendrick Motorsports team to make changes when the cars were under impound, Larson methodically worked his way through the field to challenge over the last half of the 200-lap, 400-mile affair at the 2-mile California oval.

He had some unfortunate contact with teammate Chase Elliott along the way when he slid into Elliott as Elliott tried to pass for the lead late in the event. That will make for some interesting team meetings, but it's something all major organizations are used to handling.

"[We] were able to drive up there pretty quickly and then just had to adjust on our car from there," Larson said. "We put ourselves in the game from early on and just had to kind of chip away at it and make good decisions, both on the pit box and behind the wheel."

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Here are three takeaways from Fontana:

Larson still solid

Larson won 10 races last year (11 counting the all-star race), so it’s no surprise that he would win a battle with Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez over a four-lap green-flag run to the finish after the Elliott spin.

"Restarts were crazy," Larson said. "The whole runs were crazy.

"Definitely wild, but cool to get a win here in California and hopefully get on a little streak."

The California native has a significant fan base, and he was able to please him on a day when he wasn’t sure he would. he didn’t feel he had a great day Saturday in the practice-qualifying session.

"[My crew] made some good changes, I feel like, overnight with the overall right quality of our car, which allowed me to have more confidence in what was going to happen with the race car," Larson said.

FONTANA HIGHLIGHTS: Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Austin Dillon battle for the win I NASCAR on FOX

Watch as Kyle Larson holds off Austin Dillon for the victory in the NASCAR Cup Series in Fontana!

Dillon, Suarez near-miss

Austin Dillon finished second, and Daniel Suarez finished third, and they could smile some after a near-miss. Neither driver has regularly battled for wins, so to be in the mix was positive for them.

Dillon tried to make a move on the final lap to pass Larson but just didn’t have enough.

"I made a run at him off of [Turn] 4," Dillon said. "I don’t know if I should have ran the bottom [lane]. We could really get into Turn 1 pretty good and rotate the bottom better than some guys. But, man, that was a fun race."

Suarez had fun, too, and his team also made good adjustments that had his car at its best late in the race.

"I thought I had it," Suarez said. "I got a little bit too tight. I thought I was going to be able to hold him off. ... I just didn’t have enough. I feel like in the long run, I was able to keep up with him, but in the short run, I just didn’t have enough juice.

"That’s part of it. We’re going to learn and come back stronger."

Daniel Suarez describes what he was thinking on the final four laps

Daniel Suarez describes what was going through his head on the last four laps Sunday in Fontana.

Reddick strong but numb

Tyler Reddick led a career-high 90 laps — he led 73 laps in his first two years of Cup racing — before a flat tire ended his day. He said afterward that he didn’t know if he ran over something or hurt the construction of the sidewall of the tire with a move he made on the apron.

"The effort and just the execution [of] my whole team had ... me looking like a superhero," Reddick said.

But he also had a strange development in which his left leg went numb. He said he thinks it was because he has increased muscle mass in his leg, but he said it was a "head-scratcher" because he didn’t think his belts were too tight.

"It’s a terrible feeling," Reddick said. "Your leg goes asleep, and it’s right where my glute is in the bottom of the seat, and I can’t use the brakes. I don’t know how hard to push or nothing."

Tyler Reddick on the numbness in his leg during the race

Tyler Reddick talked about the numbness in his leg during the race at Fontana and why it was perplexing to him.

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!