Larson Picks Up First Win of the Season in California

Kyle Larson won the Wise Power 400 from Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first win of the season.

Larson started from the back on Sunday due to unapproved adjustments prior to the race, and he worked his way to the front as the race went on. 

Tyler Reddick was dominant in the first half of the race, but a flat tire and contact with William Byron ended his day and allowed Larson to get control.

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Larson said problems for some of the faster drivers allowed him to get to the front.

“There were definitely some guys that were quicker than us, but they had their misfortunes,” Larson said.  “Just kept our heads in it all day.”

Larson said he struggled with his car’s handling during practice, but that his team worked hard on making the right adjustments overnight.

“Hard work all weekend there,” Larson said.  “Didn’t feel great in practice yesterday; [Crew Chief] Cliff Daniels and everybody made some good adjustments overnight and the car handled a lot better.”

Reddick’s teammate Austin Dillon ran in the top 15 for most of the day on Sunday, but quick pit stops allowed him to get track position as multiple cautions flew late in the race.

Dillon said his team kept his car in contention.

“Those guys were amazing, they kept us in the race,” Dillon said.  “We were really struggling at the beginning; kept adjusting on it and the cleaner air we got, the better we got.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Austin Dillon

3. Erik Jones

4. Daniel Suarez

5. Joey Logano

6. Aric Almirola

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Kurt Busch

9. Daniel Hemric

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

11. Cole Custer

12. Austin Cindric

13. Martin Truex Jr.

14. Kyle Busch

15. Denny Hamlin

16. Chase Briscoe

17. Ty Dillon

18. Ryan Blaney

19. Bubba Wallace

20. Todd Gilliland

21. Garrett Smithley

22. BJ McLeod

23. Justin Haley

24. Tyler Reddick

25. Alex Bowman

26. Chase Elliott

27. Brad Keselowski

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ross Chastain

30. Josh Bilicki

31. Michael McDowell

32. Cody Ware

33. Harrison Burton

34. William Byron

35. Chris Buescher

36. Christopher Bell

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Bowman Dominant in California

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Alex Bowman won the Auto Club 400 from the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Bowman dominated throughout the weekend and led a race-high 110 laps.  Bowman unloaded fast on Friday, and he ran fast laps throughout both practices and qualified towards the front of the field.

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Bowman said this was the second week in a row where his team was fast from start to finish.

“We’ve unloaded the last two weeks; I don’t think we’ve got a change in the racecar from how it came off the truck,” Bowman said.  “[Crew chief] Greg Ives and all the guys are just on point.”

Bowman said this victory is a statement for all the hard work his team has put in since his first win last June.

“The first one…was a really enjoyable experience, and then we sucked for six months,” Bowman said.  “We started this year so strong; I feel like I’ve got a lot of things on my side that I’m doing better.”

Kyle Busch finished second on Sunday after struggling with his car’s handling throughout the weekend.

Busch said his team is continuing to work on their speed.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Busch said.  “It wasn’t a second-place car, but thankfully we got a good finish out of it.”

Ryan Blaney seemed like he had the only car that could challenge Bowman, but he needed to pit for tires with two laps to go after shredding the right-rear tire.

Blaney, who finished second in the first two races of the season, said he wasn’t frustrated with the early season misfortune.

“I didn’t see any frustration,” Blaney said.  “Just corded a right-rear there at the end and gave up a good finish.  That one didn’t work out in our favor…just unfortunate end to the day, again.”

Unofficial results:

1. Alex Bowman

2. Kyle Busch

3. Kurt Busch

4. Chase Elliott

5. Brad Keselowski

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Aric Almirola

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Erik Jones

11. Tyler Reddick

12. Joey Logano

13. Matt DiBenedetto

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. William Byron

16. Chris Buescher

17. Ross Chastain

18. Cole Custer

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Kyle Larson

22. Michael McDowell

23. Clint Bowyer

24. Austin Dillon

25. John Hunter Nemechek

26. Ty Dillon

27. Bubba Wallace

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Corey LaJoie

30. Ryan Preece

31. JJ Yeley

32. Brennan Poole

33. Joey Gase

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Quin Houff

36. Reed Sorenson

37. Timmy Hill

38. Christopher Bell

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Larson Continues Strong Season, Wins Auto Club 400

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kyle Larson dominated the Auto Club 400 on his way to victory lane on Sunday at the Auto Club Speedway.

Larson has been strong to begin the season, with three-straight second-place finishes leading up to Sunday’s Auto Club 400.  Larson said he was happy to finally get to victory lane.

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“We’ve been so good all year long and three seconds in a row,” Larson said.  “I’ve been watching all the TV, ‘he doesn’t know how to win;’ we knew how to win today so it’s good.”

Larson led 110 laps, but he still had to survive a wave of cautions over the final 50 laps.  Larson said he tried to manage his frustration in the closing laps.

“I was staying as calm as I could be, but also frustrated at the same time,” Larson said.  “Seems like every time I get to the lead at the end of one of these things, a caution comes out and I’ve got to fight people off on restarts.”

Martin Truex Jr. seemed to be Larson’s only competition throughout the day.  Truex won the second segment and looked like a threat to win, but a late pit road mistake cost him a shot at the victory.

“Sucks when you have to play defense at the end of these things,” Truex said.  “Just stumbled a little bit there at the end when it mattered.”

Truex, who led 73 laps, said he thought he and Larson’s cars were evenly-matched for most of the race.

“I thought we had as good a car as Larson at times, sometimes better,” Truex said.  “Just really seemed like whoever got out front had a little advantage.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Clint Bowyer

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Joey Logano

6. Jamie McMurray

7. Daniel Suarez

8. Kyle Busch

9. Ryan Blaney

10. Chase Elliott

11. Austin Dillon

12. Erik Jones

13. Kevin Harvick

14. Denny Hamlin

15. Ryan Newman

16. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

17. AJ Allmendinger

18. Ty Dillon

19. Aric Almirola

20. Kasey Kahne

21. Jimmie Johnson

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

23. Trevor Bayne

24. Kurt Busch

25. Chris Buescher

26. Danica Patrick

27. Landon Cassill

28. Paul Menard

29. Matt DiBenedetto

30. Corey LaJoie

31. David Ragan

32. Cole Whitt

33. Michael McDowell

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Timmy Hill

36. Matt Kenseth

37. Gray Gaulding

38. Derrike Cope

39. Jeffrey Earnhardt

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