Kyle Larson pulls off clutch comeback, while Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick continue feud
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyle Larson wasn't thinking about trying to record his seventh victory of the season when his alternator belt malfunctioned early in the NASCAR Cup Series elimination race Sunday.
He was thinking more about potentially being eliminated from the playoffs.
But his team fixed the issue, and he rallied not just back above the playoff cutline but also for the victory. The win at Charlotte Motor Speedway was Larson's third road-course victory of the year, as he continues to establish himself as the championship favorite.
"I had a lot of different emotions throughout the middle portions of that race, thinking that this is so depressing and sad and crazy that I'm going to lose my shot at a championship because of an alternator issue to, 'OK, now we got it fixed. Let's try to get away with a top-15 finish,'" Larson said.
The four drivers who entered below the cutline — Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman — were eliminated but not without some dramatics (more on that later).
Larson enters the Round of Eight (NASCAR’s version of a semifinal) of Texas-Kansas-Martinsville with a heavy points cushion, while Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney have small buffers on Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
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Here are my three takeaways from the Bank of America Roval 400:
1. Elliott-Harvick feud continues
Harvick dumped Elliott on Lap 56 of the 109-lap race as they battled for position, and Elliott suffered more damage when trying to immediately return the favor. Elliott faced the prospect of elimination for much of the rest of the race, while Harvick teetered on the brink of making the cut.
Elliott indicated on his in-car radio that he wouldn’t hesitate to dump Harvick in order to ensure his elimination, but he didn’t need to. Harvick eliminated himself by wrecking on his own with nine laps remaining.
"Sometimes, real life teaches you good lessons," Harvick said after the race about wrecking Elliott.
Elliott, who finished an amazing 12th, tried to stay poised and said he doesn’t root for another driver to have trouble. But he delivered this quip: "As far as Kevin goes, just want to wish them a merry offseason and a happy Christmas."
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2. Larson team key to win
Larson’s team was able to replace an alternator belt and a battery on one pit stop and not lose a lap under caution, a key to his being able to come back for the win. Losing a lap could have cost him a shot at the next round, let alone the victory.
The Hendrick Motorsports crew practices these types of repairs and crash repairs not on a frequent basis but enough to know they can do them under pressure. They had to adjust when they planned to do the repairs over two stops, but then NASCAR opted to have just one caution lap after opening pit road and before going green.
"We've got a checklist every week we go through of parts and tools and equipment that we need to have on standby," Larson crew chief Cliff Daniels said. "All that was ready and available.
"They knew what to do and got it done, so it worked out."
3. Byron nearly pulls off upset
Byron, a Hendrick teammate to Elliott and Larson, faced a situation in which he had to win to advance, and he nearly pulled off the feat. Byron led a race-high 30 laps and was running third with 15 laps to go when he was turned by Tyler Reddick.
"The awareness there in that situation, where a guy is there in the playoffs and the first guy on new tires is probably going to win the race," said Byron, who had fresh tires but settled for 11th. "And there was just a lack of awareness there. I feel like if the roles were reversed, I would be aware."
Reddick, who finished second, owned the mistake.
"I got into the back of him ever so slightly, and that is all it took to unhook the rear tires — not on purpose," Reddick said. "It’s just that small amount of contact that changed the trajectory that much. That was shocking to me and sure disappointing."
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!
