Kyle Larson emerged uninjured from a fiery wreck during Sunday’s NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway.
Kyle Larson’s car catches fire after wreck at Pure Michigan 400
A fiery wreck ended Kyle Larson’s race Sunday in Michigan.
Gregory Shamus
Running speeds near 200 mph Larson had a right-front tire explode just short of halfway that sent him hard into the Turn 4 wall. The heavy contact triggered a fire in the No. 42 Chevrolet, which sent Larson scrambling to get out.
Michigan is NASCAR’s fastest track, and the high speeds frequently lead to tire failures.
“Blown right fronts do not feel good,” Larson told ESPN.
Entering the day on the Chase for the Sprint Cup bubble, Larson needed a strong finish at Michigan, where he was expected to contend. But an early pit road collision with Dale Earnhardt Jr. delivered a setback, negatively affecting the handling on Larson’s car and damaging the body.
NASCAR’s top rookie had nine points ahead of the Chase cutoff, though he will certainly fall outside playoff eligibility with three regular season races remaining.
“It’s just a shame,” Larson said. “We’re up there in the points battle. We’re just going to have to work even harder now with our Target Chevy to try to get in the Chase ... It sucks we had that deal happen on pit road in the beginning. It really, really killed our day. I thought we had a car capable of winning the race, for sure.”
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