Kyle Larson had one of the most chaotic days possible in NASCAR during Sunday's All-Star Race at Dover.
The No. 5 car got torn up just over a lap into the first 75-lap segment in a huge wreck which left Ryan Preece's No. 60 car on fire, and went back to the garage area for repairs immediately.
However, the nature of the day – two 75-lap stages effectively replacing the All-Star Open to set the final field, before a 200-lap shootout – meant that Larson's team could spend the rest of that first 150 laps working on his car in preparation for the 200-lap shootout, as he was already locked into the 26-car final field.
With his car behind the wall undergoing heavy repair work from his crew, Larson gave a brief interview to the FOX Sports crew on site (which his bank account may regret later; there are some words you shouldn't say on live TV).
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Larson: I've seen our team pull off crazy stuff
"I've seen our team pull off some crazy stuff in the past," he said, "so we'll see if they can get it fixed up enough. It looks like No. 5 team arts and crafts right now. So, nice class in session, I guess. Yeah, try to make the most out of a sh***y day."
The team did indeed patch the car up well enough that he was able to take his place back in the field for the final 200-lap dash, but he retired from the race with around 60 laps to go due to a power steering failure.
That was still better than Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott fared in Delaware, with both getting caught up in wrecks in the opening segments and unable to get back out there for the All-Star Race proper – ceding their places to drivers who would previously have been on the outside looking in.
Elliott said of his early finish: “It was wild, for sure. I didn’t really know what the best thing to do was. I probably should have stayed out and tried to take a chance, but you’re probably going to be in the mess either way. There were a lot of different strategies going on, and unfortunately, I just got caught up in the mess twice and the second one was enough to end our day.
"I saw them getting together and crashing. Obviously the straightaway has so much banking here that everything slides to the bottom and that’s where I was. I was trying to work my way back up the hill and I ran into a wall of cars sliding down the track. It’s just part of it.”
NASCAR All-Star Race Results
| Pos | Driver (Car No.) | Team (OEM) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin (11) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 2 | Chase Briscoe (19) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 3 | Erik Jones (43) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) |
| 4 | Austin Dillon (3) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 5 | Connor Zilisch (88) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 6 | Austin Cindric (2) | Team Penske (Ford) |
| 7 | William Byron (24) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 8 | Michael McDowell (71) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 9 | Alex Bowman (48) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski (6) | RFK Racing (Ford) |
| 11 | Noah Gragson (4) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) |
| 12 | AJ Allmendinger (16) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 13 | Ryan Blaney (12) | Team Penske (Ford) |
| 14 | Carson Hocevar (77) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 15 | Ty Dillon (10) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) | Hyak Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 17 | Kyle Busch (8) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 18 | Josh Berry (21) | Wood Brothers Racing (Ford) |
| 19 | Shane Van Gisbergen (97) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 20 | Bubba Wallace (23) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) |
| 21 | Daniel Suarez (7) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 22 | Tyler Reddick (45) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) |
| 23 | Christopher Bell (20) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 24 | Ty Gibbs (54) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 25 | Joey Logano (22) | Team Penske (Ford) |
| 26 | Kyle Larson (5) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
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