Larson Beats Keselowski for All-Star Race Win

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FORT WORTH, TX – RS – Kyle Larson won Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway, collecting the $1 million prize in the final 10-lap shootout. Larson won the first and last of the six rounds in the unique All-Star format, leading 17 of the 100 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It was his second All-Star win, adding to the invitational victory he claimed at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2019.

Before that event, the open race that would all drivers to the field based on winning a stage or the event in the race.  Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chantain qualified for the big show.  Matt DiBenedetto was the top vote-getter in fan balloting who had not already qualified for the main event, so he raced in the All-Star event.

“Honestly, I can’t believe it,” Larson said post-race. “That second run there, we were really bad and I was like, ‘man, we’re in trouble.’ I went backwards that round, so I was like we’ve got an uphill battle. I did not imagine seeing myself winning this race today. Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and everybody works so hard on this thing and made some good adjustments throughout the first, second and third rounds and got us in position.”

Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott won the other rounds as all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers claimed round wins.

Brad Keselowski finished second overall in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, with Elliott coming home third. Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports crew also pocketed a $100,000 bonus for recording the fastest service during the mandatory four-tire pit stop in Round 5.

Larson started the All-Star Race first after a random draw for initial starting spots and led nine of the first 15 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, gaining an edge in the cumulative scoring that determined the lineup for later rounds.

The All-Star Race took place at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track for the first time. The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race — a points-paying event — is Sunday’s Ally 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), which will mark the circuit’s debut at Nashville Superspeedway.

The new format of the race, with six rounds of varying distance and a final 10-lap shootout to determine a winner.  Larson and Keselowski swapped the lead back and forth throughout the final round with Larson coming out on top.

Results: NASCAR All Star Race: June 13, 2021, Texas Motor Speedway - 1.5 - Mile Paved

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Tms Lee, Laps Led, Laps, Status

1) 1, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 2, 17, 100, Running

2) 9, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 2, 5, 100, Running

3) 6, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1, 12, 100, Running

4) 7, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, , , 100, Running

5) 17, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Ford, 1, 15, 100, Running

6) 15, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 1, 9, 100, Running

7) 8, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 1, 30, 100, Running

8) 20, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, , , 100, Running

9) 2, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Summering Toyota, 1, 6, 100, Running

10) 13, Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Chevrolet, , , 100, Running

11) 3, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Craftsman Toyota, , , 100, Running

12) 11, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, , , 100, Running

13) 10, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Toyota, , , 100, Running

14) 4, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, , , 100, Running

15) 12, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light #BuschToTheMoon Ford, , , 100, Running

16) 19, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 iCashautos/I Am Second Chevrolet, , , 100, Running

17) 21, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 1, 6, 100, Running

18) 18, Ross Chastain, No. 42 McDonald's Chevrolet, , , 100, Running

19) 5, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Andy's Frozen Custard Chevrolet, , , 100, Running

20) 14, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford, , , 100, Running

21) 16, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, , , 100, Running

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 45 Mins, 59 Secs.

Race Length: 100 Laps, 150. Miles

Average Speed: 84.919 MPH

Margin of Victory: 0.206 Seconds

Comments: Kyle Larson won the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway, his 2nd NASCAR All-Star Race victory.

Cautions: 7 for 0 laps;

Laps: 1-1 (No. 20 Spin Turn 2 [None]);

15-15 (Round 1 Conclusion [None]);

30-30 (Round 2 Conclusion [None]);

45-45 (Round 3 Conclusion [None]);

60-60 (Round 4 Conclusion [None]);

79-79 (No. 42, No. 6 Incident Turn 2 [18]);

90-90 (Round 5 Conclusion [3]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 8 drivers;

K. Busch 1-6;

K. Larson 7-15;

R. Blaney 16-30;

M. DiBenedetto 31-36;

A. Bowman 37-45;

W. Byron 46-75;

B. Keselowski 76-79;

C. Elliott 80-91;

B. Keselowski 92;

K. Larson 93-100.

Results: NASCAR All Star Open, June 13, 2021, Texas Motor Speedway

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led

1) 10, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 50, Running, 1, 10

2) 3, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 50, Running, ,

3) 2, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 50, Running, ,

4) 9, Chase Briscoe #, No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 50, Running, ,

5) 16, Austin Cindric(i), No. 33 Pirtek Ford, 50, Running, ,

6) 6, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Door Dash Toyota, 50, Running, ,

7) 19, Justin Haley(i), No. 77 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet, 50, Running, ,

8) 12, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford, 50, Running, ,

9) 4, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Bush's Beans Chevrolet, 50, Running, ,

10) 11, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet, 50, Running, ,

11) 17, Cody Ware(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, 50, Running, ,

12) 18, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Surface Sunscreen Ford, 50, Running, ,

13) 15, Josh Bilicki, No. 52 Junction Fuels Ford, 50, Running, ,

14) 20, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 53 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, 50, Running, ,

15) 13, Quin Houff, No. 00 8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet, 49, Running, ,

16) 14, James Davison, No. 15 Go FMX Chevrolet, 49, Running, ,

17) 21, Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 Boathouse Bar & Grill/Oak'd Handcrafted BBQ , 49, Running, ,

18) 22, David Starr(i), No. 13 T-Top MFG/CDB Cantera Design Builders Toyota, 49, Running, ,

19) 1, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 iCashautos/I Am Second Chevrolet, 40, Stage 2 , 2, 38

20) 5, Ross Chastain, No. 42 McDonald's Chevrolet, 20, Stage 1 , 1, 2

21) 8, Erik Jones, No. 43 Petty's Garage Chevrolet, 13, Accident, ,

22) 7, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 13, Accident, ,

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 47 Mins, 32 Secs.

Race Length: 50 Laps, 75. Miles

Average Speed: 94.67 MPH

Margin of Victory: 0.458 Seconds

Comments: Aric Almirola won the NASCAR All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 42 (inspection violation), No. 33 (multiple inspection failures, unapproved adjustments), No. 13 (unapproved adjustments).

Caution Flags: 5 for 13 laps;

Laps: 6-8 (No. 23 Spin Turn 2 [None]);

10-13 (No. 17, No. 47 Incident Turn 3 [None]);

15-18 (No. 14, No. 43, No. 99 Incident Turn 4 [None]);

20-20 (Round 1 Conclusion [None]);

40-40 (Round 2 Conclusion [52]).

Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers;

T. Reddick 1-18;

R. Chastain 19-20;

T. Reddick 21-40;

A. Almirola 41-50.

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2021, Issue 6, Posted 11:36 PM, 06.13.2021