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In a wild race that noticed 16 warning flags, Chase Elliott held off the sector in double-overtime to interrupt a 42-race winless streak and lock himself into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Sequence playoffs. This is what we discovered after Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson seems to be dominant, however the wheels (actually) fall off
Kyle Larson sat on the pole for the third straight weekend and led 77 laps in Sunday’s race at Texas, however you would not comprehend it from trying on the outcomes sheet. The 2021 Cup Sequence champion had a wheel fall off on lap 115, incurring a two-lap penalty that set him again in visitors. Whereas he was capable of get again on the lead lap, a late spin foiled any risk of the No. 5 automotive getting again into competition for the win. Larson as soon as extra appeared to be the quickest automotive on the town, but when bizarre errors like this maintain taking place, it might doom his shot at a second championship.
The Chase Elliott of previous confirmed up, and he is dangerous quick
When you do not win for 42 consecutive races, folks neglect how good you actually are. That gave the impression to be the case with Elliott on Sunday, because the 2020 Cup Sequence champion led 39 laps and held off the likes of Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain to seize his first checkered flag for the reason that fall of 2022 at Talladega. If Elliott parlays his momentum from this win into this subsequent stretch of races, seeing the No. 9 automotive in victory lane might turn out to be a relentless once more, reasonably than an outlier. Bear in mind, in 2022 – his final absolutely wholesome season – Elliott gained 5 races and made the Championship 4. That season included a victory at Talladega Superspeedway, the place, coincidentally, the Cup Sequence goes subsequent weekend. With three straight top-five finishes and a Texas-sized trophy below his belt, do not be shocked if NASCAR’s hottest driver goes back-to-back.
Ty Gibbs‘ day ruined by pit street abnormalities
Ty Gibbs certified second for Sunday’s race and gave the impression to be one of many favorites when the inexperienced flag flew, however pit street rapidly ruined any likelihood the 21-year-old had of profitable his first Cup Sequence race. After a hearth close to his pit stall pressured him to remain out longer than the remainder of the sector, Gibbs acquired held up in visitors and misplaced time on the racetrack. Because the race unfolded, various pit methods continued to combine up the working order, and whereas he did flirt with the highest 10 in Stage Three, a Thirteenth-place end is all Gibbs has to point out for his efforts, which means that first profession win should wait at the least yet one more week.
Underdogs dot the highest 20
When you may have a race with plenty of cautions and ranging pit methods, you might be inevitably going to get drivers on the entrance who aren’t normally there. This was the case on Sunday as effectively, as drivers who spent most of their day struggling to remain within the prime 30 in Austin Dillon (eighth) and Kyle Busch (ninth) each completed inside the highest 10, as did Cup Sequence rookie Carson Hocevar (tenth). Different notable underdogs embrace Daniel Suarez, (fifth) Chase Briscoe, (sixth) Ty Dillon (sixteenth) and Daniel Hemric, (twentieth) the latter of which was the slowest automotive on monitor in Stage One. With a few prime contenders in Hamlin and Larson discovering dangerous fortune on Sunday, the drivers close to the again of the pack took benefit and turned one man’s trash into their very own treasure.
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