What happened at the end of the NASCAR Cup race at Talladega? On the surface, Kyle Larson appeared to be in a perfect position to earn his first-ever drafting track win. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was leading the inside line and had a teammate pushing him as the field raced down the backstretch.
Suddenly, the No. 5 pulled down to the apron and Larson dropped out of view, crawling across the line with a 26th-place finish. Even a top five would have sent him into Martinsville with a comfortable cushion points-wise, but now, he holds the final transfer spot. Unless he can climb above Christopher Bell, who is just one point ahead of him, Larson could easily be eliminated by any of the four highly successful drivers below him winning at Martinsville.
