Kyle Larson wins Clash LCQ

Kyle Larson stormed from a 10th-place starting position to win Sunday night’s Last Chance Qualifier, joining Josh Berry to collect the final two open spots in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, struggled in Saturday’s heat race, finishing eighth of 10 drivers in Heat 2, sending him to the 75-lap LCQ rather than the big show immediately. Those Saturday struggles vanished Sunday as he wheeled his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet through the field Sunday. With his finish in the LCQ, Larson will start 21st in The Clash (8 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

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“I thought if I take the outside front row, there’s a higher percentage of a chance that I’m gonna get wiped out whenever I either get down or somebody shoves somebody into me,” Larson said of his lane choice on restarts. “So I just thought my safest thing was to choose inside second row, and thankfully, it worked out.”

“My car felt like a totally different race car, so I was happy with that,” Larson said in regard to the No. 5 team’s adjustments before the LCQ. “It really allowed me to get to the front pretty quickly. Hopefully, they can get it repaired here, and we’ll have a decent shot here, I think, in this race.” 

Though his speed was fast enough for fourth-quickest in Saturday’s opening practice sessions, Larson qualified just 22nd of the 39 entrants, setting him up for a sixth-place start in Heat 2. Once the 25-lap preliminary began, Larson was trapped on the outside behind Zane Smith as Smith ran side-by-side with Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suárez. Smith eventually worked his way to the bottom, but Suárez shunted him out of the way and back into Larson’s path. Larson bounced off Smith’s No. 38 Ford and nearly turned sideways across the front bumper of Cody Ware’s No. 51 machine. Larson couldn’t recover in the remaining 18 laps and was forced to settle for his spot in the LCQ.

Ryan Blaney earned the provisional spot for Sunday’s main event based on his points finish last year (2nd) after exiting early due to a mechanical issue found before the race.

berry and larson talk in the garage