TC Daily Pit Stop: Kyle Larson Delivers Old-School Ass Whipping to All-Star Field; Highlights from Sunday at North Wilkesboro
TC Daily Pit Stop: Monday, May 22nd, 2023
Kyle Larson Delivers ‘Old-School Ass Whipping’ to All-Star Field at North Wilkesboro
PC: Jonathan McCoy | TobyChristie.com
In NASCAR nowadays, there aren’t many occasions that you see anybody deliver a butt-kicking in the magnitude that Kyle Larson did in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson collected his third victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, leading 145 of 200 laps. Though, that number doesn’t provide much background information on the night for the Elk Grove, California native.
Bubba Wallace finished second, while Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Chase Elliott completed the race’s top-five finishers at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.
RACE RECAP
RACE RESULTS
INSPECTION REPORT
Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs Transfer to All-Star Race Through Open; Noah Gragson Wins Fan Vote
PC: Jonathan McCoy | TobyChristie.com
Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs will each compete in the NASCAR All-Star Race for the first time in their careers, after securing the top-two positions in Sunday’s preliminary All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Berry was able to secure the victory in Sunday’s 100-lap preliminary event, making the pass for the win on polesitter Ty Gibbs with 23 laps to go, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had to deal with a somewhat perturbed Michael McDowell.
McDowell, driving the No. 34 for Front Row Motorsports, was in contention to advance into the NASCAR All-Star Race, when he got a shove from Ty Gibbs, sending him and Justin Haley into the outside wall.
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Ryan Newman on Ty Dillon: “That’s Typical Him, He’s Always Struggled a Little Bit”
Ryan Newman’s bid to make it into the field for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was hampered by damage sustained in a multi-car crash, which started when Noah Gragson got into the inside wall on Lap 50.
According to Newman, he would have missed the crash, had it not been for another driver slamming into him from behind. According to Newman, that driver was Ty Dillon.
“I didn’t see what happened in front of me. The 77 just piledrove me down into Turn 1, and when they were crashing in front of me, it just shoved me into the crash, which is typical — who was that? Ty Dillon? That’s typical him. Because he’s always struggled a little bit.”
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Michael McDowell After Run-in With Ty Gibbs: ‘He’s Lucky He Finished The Race’
Ty Gibbs was able to make his way into the NASCAR All-Star Race with a second-place finish in the All-Star Open Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, but it came at a cost as he roughed up Michael McDowell on the track.
With 44 laps remaining in the 100-lap Open event, Gibbs made contact with McDowell, who was in a three-wide battle with Gibbs and Justin Haley.
“I’ve said this before, it doesn’t matter if you’re the 48, the 10, the 41, I don’t care. If you run me over, I’m not going to wave you by the next time I see you. It’s just not going to happen,” McDowell stated. “I don’t hold anything against him, who he is, his character, and all of that. He’s a good kid, he’s aggressive, and he goes for it. He just overstepped it. I’ve done it 100 times.”
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Video: Gragson Tags Inside Pit Wall, Triggers Multi-Car Crash in All-Star Open
What in the world? Noah Gragson was battling for the sixth position in a hornet’s nest on a restart during the NASCAR All-Star Open, when he made an error on the frontstretch on Lap 50.
Gragson turned his car to the left, a little too far, and contacted the inside pit road wall, while at full race speed heading into Turn 1. The contact with the wall sent Gragson into fellow competitors and triggered a hard crash.