Kyle Larson looked poised for victory at Texas Motor Speedway last year, his No. 5 Chevrolet tearing up the track as he led 77 laps and cruised to a Stage 1 win. But just when it seemed like his second triumph of the season was within reach, disaster struck. Under caution, following Carson Hocevar’s spin on Lap 115, the right-rear wheel of his car betrayed him—rolling away and forcing NASCAR to hold him on pit road for two agonizing laps. Larson fought back, clawing his way through the field, but the damage was done, and he finished a frustrating 21st. This was not the last time tire issues would haunt him in the season. A flat tire at a crucial playoff race in Homestead sent him hard into the wall, crushing his championship hopes. And this hoodoo with tires has continued going into the new year.
The 2021 Cup Series champion Larson arrived at COTA with a reputation that preceded him. With six wins last season and a track record of dominating different racing surfaces, he was more than just another driver. Starting seventh on the grid, Larson carried the weight of expectations, particularly after his impressive Xfinity Series victory at the track last year. But then came an all too familiar moment that would rewrite the narrative.
During the second stage of the race, a routine pit stop transformed into a NASCAR nightmare. As his pit crew took time to get a left side wheel on, the number 5’s right front wheel came completely detached, rolling down the backstretch like a runaway missile on lap 44. “I got a flat or… f—— right front came off,” Larson erupted over the radio, his frustration palpable as his race hopes disintegrated before his eyes.
Dealing already with a track limit penalty, he was held for two laps at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Larson, who had raced within the Top 5, would eventually finish in the 32nd place but that was not the end of his troubles. Bob Pockrass’s tweet confirmed that Larson’s #5 crew faces suspensions.
According to the rosters, Kyle Larson’s team, expecting suspensions to its jackman and front tire changer, will get jackman Eric Ludwig and tire changer Jafar Hall from the Justin Haley car (they are Hendrick crew members typically assigned to Spire cars),” Pockrass informed.
Brandon Johnson, the jackman, and Blaine Anderson, the front tire changer, for the number 5 team have been suspended through the next two Cup Series events at Phoenix Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway as confirmed by NASCAR on Wednesday. In a chess-like move of survival, Hendrick Motorsports is prepared to deploy Eric Ludwig and Jafar Hall – typically assigned to Spire cars – to fill the critical crew positions for this weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
Johnson and Anderson would only be able to rejoin the team at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 23 at the earliest.
Despite a promising start, COTA turned into a forgettable outing for Larson. He faced a stop-and-go penalty for exceeding the track limits on turn 3 on lap 33 and later spun off turn 20 on lap 85. This meant Larson had his worst finish of the season so far.
Kevin Harvick addressed Larson’s tire trouble on his Happy Hour podcast and pointed out that this has been a consistent issue with the number 5 car.
“Well, we’ve been very critical of Kyle Busch‘s situation because he’s been running up front and had these scenarios happen like you see right here with the wheel falling off, or pit road penalties. But we have seen this weakness out of the 5 car as they’ve gone through the last couple of years for sure. They’ve had some catastrophic pit-stop moments that have taken them out of races. This was actually another one of those moments that will have the effect of things with suspensions and like that going forward,” Harvick said.
With a new crew in place for the next two races, Larson will be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes as he seeks his first win of the season.
Meanwhile, apart from Kyle Larson, another NASCAR driver is in deep waters after the race in COTA. Unlike Larson, the driver in the discussion here has been slapped with a hefty penalty.
Austin Cindric faces hefty NASCAR punishment
The Penske driver had been in contention to win both the races at Daytona and Atlanta. But, despite leading major chunks of the races he either ended up being wrecked or shoved. By the time he made it to COTA, his frustration reached new heights. This was evident when he right-hooked Austin Dillon on the front stretch after the No. 10 car ran him wide out of Turn 20.
NASCAR opted to let this incident slide and review it after the race weekend. Now, they have come out with strict punishment for Cindric, making it clear that it will not let slide drivers hooking competitors in the right rear to spin them because of the potential hazards. As a result, they penalized Austin Cindric 50 points and fined him $50,000 on Wednesday.
This punishment sends Cinric from 11th to 35th in the standings heading into this weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
