Mistakes reared their head at the Southern 500, Kyle Larson made a big statement and more from NASCAR's playoff opener at Darlington.
. Reddick’s team called him to pit road late because they were trying to counter Rodney Childers’ pit call — which very well could have helped the No. 4 car jump Reddick by pitting one lap earlier and given Harvick the track position he needed to win. Can you imagine the storylines had Harvick won the Southern 500? The grandstands would have about fallen down and it would have been one of the most popular victories in years.
Huh? NASCAR felt the lack of lighting made it necessary to stop the race in the first place, and now there was a chance to go back to racing before it was fixed? That didn’t make much sense. Thankfully, the tower eventually threw a red flag, and it wasn’t too long before the power company fixed the problem.
But the incident was also a reminder of how every little quirk can matter in the playoffs. If it was a regular-season race when something weird happened , no one would have cared beyond making memes about it . But the lengthy caution allowed Bell’s team to work on repairs and allowed Joey Logano back on the lead lap, which could ultimately make the difference between playoff advancement and elimination.
It’s weird to say, but moments like this should almost be expected by now. Even the most unbiased call by officials will favor some competitors while hurting others — sort of like the decision to shorten the Chicago Street Race with darkness approaching. That’s the nature of racing, but it also emphasizes the challenge of applying a playoff format to a sport not conducive to one.
was making just his second Cup Series start — in the toughest race of the season, at that — and ended up 17th for Legacy Motor Club in a car that had an average finish of 27.6 this year. Not only that, but Hocevar ran in the top 20 for nearly the entire night and seemed to be mistake-free in doing so. That’s awfully impressive when you consider both his lack of experience and his age .
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