KANSAS CITY, Kans. – A spin early in the second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) practice at Kansas Speedway has forced Kyle Larson and his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team to a backup car for Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400.
Exercising the high lane out of Turn 2, Larson lost traction and rode the outside wall before spinning into a half-spin along the backstretch where he came to a rest. Larson, the Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway winner quickly re-fired his No. 42 Target Chevrolet and drove back to the garage where the team deemed the damage too severe to fix.
“I felt like I was going to crash every lap since we unloaded today,” said Larson. “We only made like seven laps the first practice because I was spinning out every time. They made some big adjustments there between practices, but I actually thought my (Turns) 1 and 2 was better because as I run my (Turn) 3 and 4 has been my worst corner.
“I just tried to open my entry up a little bit in (Turn) 1 and it stepped out on me, I felt before I ever got to the corner, and I mean I didn’t have really time to chase it. I feel bad that I wrecked a primary car. Our back-up should be just as good, if not better than our primary. Yeah, it’s just really, really edgy for some reason this weekend.
“I had to chase it up and smacked the wall pretty hard.”
Several drivers experienced loose race cars and close calls during the opening 55-minute practice session on Friday morning. Larson was among those who nearly spun out when exiting the corner. Furniture Row Racing rookie Erik Jones experienced a similar incident to Larson’s during practice, but his occurred out of Turn 4 and into the frontstretch grass. The team was able to repair Jones’ Toyota.
Shortly after Larson’s incident, teammate Jamie McMurray scrapped the wall off Turn 2 and suffered right rear quarter panel damage. The team is making repairs to his No. 1 McDonalds Chevrolet.
Quick work by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates allowed Larson to return to the track in his backup nearly 50 minutes into the final practice session of the weekend.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email [email protected].
