While tires were the name of the game in the Auto Club 500, some of the rookies were able to avoid trouble while others were bitten with a poor finish. Still, improvement was showcased across the board.
Kyle Larson
Finished: 2nd
After scoring his first career Nationwide Series win on Saturday, Kyle Larson posted his best career Sprint Cup Series finish on Sunday after finishing second behind Kyle Busch.
For most of the race, Larson ran around the 12th place spot as he said his steam struggled with his Target Chevrolet being too loose on exist and too tight in the center. However, as the day went, Larson’s team got the car adjusted accordingly and he worked his way back to the front. A caution came out for Clint Bowyer having a flat tire, resulting in a round of pit stops with Larson coming off pit road eighth for the green-white-checkered.
The ensuing restart brought forth everybody being four and five wide heading into turn one, with Larson quickly working his way to the front, coming off turn one fourth. He then followed Kyle Busch by both Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch coming off turn two the next lap to move into second.
“(I) thought I might have a shot at Kyle depending on where he’d go into Turn 3, but he was good enough to keep it on the bottom and stay ahead of me,” Larson said. “But we’ll take a second. Long race and definitely didn’t expect to run second, so I’ll take it and head back to North Carolina with a smile on my face.”
Austin Dillon
Finished: 11th
Austin Dillon also kept his four tires inflated all day and ran consistently just outside the top 10 all day on his way to posting a solid 11th place finish.
Cole Whitt and Michael Annett
Finished: 18th and 19th
With many of their competitors finding tire issues throughout the day, both Cole Whitt and Michael Annett were able to keep it solid all day and finish just inside the top 20. While it’s not a top 10, it’s certainly a big finish for both drivers as a result of the teams that they’re with. Whitt is with Swan Racing while Annett is with Tommy Baldwin Racing – both unfunded, small organizations. For organizations with their resources to run inside the top 20, it’s certainly a feat.
For both drivers, it also marks their best finishes of the season so far after starting off the year with some poor luck.
Alex Bowman
Finished: 22nd
Alex Bowman also posted his best finish of the season when he crossed the line in 22nd as he also avoided the tire issues that other drivers fell victim to throughout the day. It marks a solid finish, right around expectations also, for the same reasons talked about above with team and expectations as BK Racing doesn’t have the biggest budget either.
Justin Allgaier
Finished: 28th
Unfortunately, Justin Allgaier fell a lap down and ended up finishing 28th in his Phoenix Racing Chevrolet.
Today was interesting….Really bummed we had a flat tire and damaged the car. The @TeamHSM51 @BrandtRacing Chevy was a lot better than 28th
— Justin Allgaier (@J_Allgaier) March 24, 2014
Ryan Truex
Finished: 31st
Like many others, Ryan Truex fell down a lap as a result of tire issue during the course of the Auto Club 500.
Parker Kligerman
Finished: 42nd
While his fellow rookies were able to continue after their tire issues, Parker Kligerman wasn’t as lucky as he ended up making considerable contact with the wall that took him out of the race. Kligerman hasn’t got lucky at all with his start to the season and could use a change real soon.
Next Up: Martinsville
The rookies learned a week ago in Bristol that short tracks don’t come easy or friendly in the Sprint Cup Series so this weekend should be no different. Larson has shown his strength on the short tracks so perhaps he’ll be able to pull off another stellar finish and lead the crop.
