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The return to Auto Club Speedway with NASCAR WISE Power 400, was a huge boost for the 2021 Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson. The driver of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 # 5 for Hendrick Motorsports came from the rare end of the field to an impressive win, edging Erik Jones. With only two races down, the talented driver has already clinched his first win of the 2022 season and a pole position.
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In a media interview after the race, Larson was asked to compare the Next-Gen car to a dirt car. He rejected the comparison, saying:
“No, no, it’s -- dirt car, I mean, you get sideways, you can control it. This still feels like a stock car to me. It just has a lot less side force feeling to me. You just have a lot less room to catch it when you do get a little bit yawed out, where before you could get yawed out and it had so much side force and such a big spoiler it would kind of drag itself back straight. Now you just get past that point, it just snaps fast. Yeah, it drives like a stock car.”
How Kyle Larson reclaimed the lead at NASCAR WISE Power 400
The Hendrick Motorsport driver was the favorite to win this race, considering his good performances on these short tracks. The hopes of those who were placing their stake on him, however, started decreasing after he could only muster P13 in the qualifying race.
It seems things started changing for the reigning champion the moment the green flag dropped. With 20 laps to go, Kyle Larson chased down Joey Logano before his team-mate Chase Elliot accelerated moving to the right side of Larson. Larson inadvertently blocked Elliott to put him on the wall, resulting in the latter incurring serious damage. With only three laps remaining, Daniel Suarez took the lead, threatening Larson's chances of winning.
The car#5 driver then managed to reclaim the leading position, holding Austin Dillon to the finishing race. After the race, Larson highlighted the incident with Elliot. He claimed to not know that his team-mate was coming and if he knew, he would have focused on Joey Logano to protect his teammate.
