Kyle Larson Outlasts Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick at Auto Club to Take His First NASCAR Nationwide Series Victory

        After holding off Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick in the final run of the race at Auto Club Speedway, Kyle Larson was able to capture his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series win. Larson had to fight extremely hard for the win. Busch and Harvick pushed him to his limits in the final twenty laps, but Larson was standing on top at Auto Club. Larson really lacked speed in the early part of the event as he ran in the back part of the top ten for most of the day, but he really turned it on late. This win was something that has been brewing for Larson for over one year now. Larson had five second place finishes in his career in the Nationwide Series before taking his first win today. This very well could be the signature part of his early career behind the wheel of a stock car. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Elliott Sadler followed behind Larson in the finishing order. Most of the Nationwide regulars had great races today as they all followed behind the Sprint Cup guys in the field. The season is only five races old now, but this was definitely one of the best races so far. Constant side by side racing, slide jobs, bumping and banging, and a great finish made this race one of the most interesting in a while at Auto Club for the series and one that should last as a great one for the rest of the season.

        Elliott Sadler started on the pole. It was his first NASCAR Nationwide Series pole of 2014. A story line to follow in the race was with Kyle Busch. Busch missed qualifying because he failed inspection and he was forced to start in the back. It would be interesting to see if he could make it to the front. The race went green and the field immediately fanned out heading into turn 1. Sadler looked to be in control of the first lap heading down the backstretch, but Kevin Harvick made a daring outside move heading into turn 3 and he was able to lead the first lap. Before any of the drivers could get comfortable, the first caution of the race waved on lap 2. Jamie Dick broke loose in turn 3 due to a tire problem. His car slid up the track and piled into the outside wall. Jamie was able to drive away with minor damage after straightening out his car. None of the drivers received the lucky dog. The leaders decided to stay on track and the field was lined up. The race went back green and Matt Kenseth was able to take the lead from Kevin Harvick after the field fanned out on the restart. Just a few laps later on lap 6, Joey Logano was able to take the lead from Harvick. Logano began to stretch his lead away from the field just as Kyle Busch made his entrance into the top 10 on lap 7. It would be interesting to see if Busch could jump to the lead.

        Logano continued to move away from the field with quick times every lap. The laps clicked down and Kyle Busch continued to move through the field. Pretty soon, the first round of green flag pit stops of the race approached for the leaders on lap 39. Joey Logano came down from the lead position and his crew struggled a little on the stop. The team couldn't get his right front tire off and a slow stop occurred for Logano. The stops cycled through and Kyle Busch was able to take the lead after Logano's struggling stop. Busch drove away from the field, but his car didn't seem to be at its best. Logano began to close in on Busch after the stops and he was within reach in only about fifteen laps after returning to the track. On lap 61, Logano was able to fly by Busch and take the lead as the field raced behind them. The race went a few more laps before the second caution waved on lap 67. Debris was spotted on the backstretch of the track. Regan Smith received the lucky dog. This caution brought the second set of stops of the race. All the lead lap drivers came down pit road for four tires with Joey Logano coming out as the leader. Now, only about half of the race remained and it would definitely be a battle.

        The race went back green and Kyle Busch began to battle hard with Joey Logano for the lead. The two were running side by side around the track trying to decide who would hold the lead just as the third caution of the race waved on lap 73. Dylan Kwasniewski's car began to break loose underneath Chase Elliott in turn 1. Kwasniewski went up the track and the two made contact. Elliott bumped the wall while Kwasniewski drove away with slight damage. Elliott was able to drive away after touching the wall, but he had slight damage on his right side. Chris Buescher received the lucky dog. The drivers decided to stay on track and the field was lined back up. The race went back green and Brian Scott started flying. Scott took the lead from Kyle Busch on the backstretch thanks to an extremely daring three wide move around Busch. Scott tried to drive away and hold the lead, but Joey Logano was able to take the lead on lap 81. Logano began to drive away from the field as Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and the rest of the field was riding behind him, but one driver was coming up through the pack. As the laps began to click away, Kyle Larson made it into the top two around lap 100. It would be interesting to see if he could stay there as green flag stops began soon. 

       On lap 110, the second round of green flag pit stops of the race began. The stops cycled through cleanly for all the drivers with Joey Logano coming out as the leader once again. Logano was ahead by a nice amount, but Kyle Larson was coming. Larson began to gain tenths on Logano every lap and by lap 124, Larson was battling Logano for the lead. The two were beating and bumping off each other knowing this might be the final run of the race. The two were pretty aggravated with each other as Logano expressed his frustration with Larson over the radio during the battle. Finally, though, the two were able to catch their breath with the fourth and final caution of the race on lap 130. Josh Wise began to slow on track due to a possible engine problem and he left some fluid on the track. James Buescher received the lucky dog. The caution brought the final and most important pit stops of the race for the lead lap drivers. All of them made it down pit road cleanly and the stops went cleanly for each one. Kevin Harvick was able to come out first ahead of Kyle Larson and Joey Logano. Now, the final run of the race was set up and it was surely going to be a great one.

        The field lined up one final time and the race went back green one final time. Kevin Harvick jumped out to the advantage heading into turn 1 on the restart, but Kyle Larson was able to take the lead on the backstretch. Larson ran away slightly, but Kyle Busch began to charge up to the front of the field. With thirteen laps to go, Busch and Larson began to battle hard for the lead. Busch and Larson ran side by side in the corners and Busch was hoping to take the advantage, but Larson continued to hold on as Kevin Harvick jumped into the battle. With about ten laps to go, the three were running nose to tail around the huge speedway. Larson was holding onto the lead as Harvick looked to pass Busch. The two battled hard as Larson could not run away from two of the best. Harvick passed Busch with about five laps to go and Harvick started battling Larson. Every turn, Harvick dove to the bottom and looked to be ahead of Larson, but it was still Larson's lead as he pursued his first career win. Soon, only two laps remained and the three drivers were giving it all they had. Larson took the white flag with Harvick close to his back bumper. Larson made it cleanly through the first two turns as Harvick gave it a last few attempts. Larson drove down the backstretch and he tried to break up the draft with Harvick. Harvick made one last ditch effort in turns 3 and 4, but he couldn't do it. Larson was able to power away from him and take his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series win in a very tense showing of power. It was definitely a gratifying win for Kyle Larson and one that gives him a lot of momentum as he works to make the transition to the Cup Series a smooth one.

        Kyle Larson's jump to the Cup Series has been heavily scrutinized by everyone. I even scrutinized it. Larson didn't take a win in the Nationwide Series last year and he only had a lone truck win when Chip Ganassi tabbed him to take over the number 42 for 2014. Larson just didn't seem ready because he had almost no experience in full bodied stock cars. Well, it has all changed for mostly everybody and myself. Larson has a Nationwide win at a difficult Auto Club Speedway and he has run well in the Sprint Cup Series in his rookie year. We very well could be looking at one of the best drivers to make the jump in NASCAR in the past few seasons. Kevin Harvick came so close to his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win at his home track, but he still came home second. Kyle Busch can't frown on his performance today after driving from thirty ninth to take a third place finish. Joey Logano dominated the event, but he couldn't finish it off and walked away fourth. Elliott Sadler grabbed a much needed momentum boost as he walked home fifth. The rest of the Nationwide regulars followed behind him as Chase Elliott came home sixth after a problem with Dylan Kwasniewski during the event. Trevor Bayne finished ninth just one spot ahead of his fellow competitor for the Nationwide championship, Regan Smith. The points standings are now tied at the top, but Smith takes the advantage due to his win at Daytona. The standings are close, but the drivers have a lot of races to fight through. The Nationwide Series takes next week off before heading to the Texas Motor Speedway for a Friday night shootout on the mile and a half track. Will Kyle Larson repeat in the Nationwide Series, will Kyle Busch take his second straight win in the Spring race at Texas, will Trevor Bayne or Regan Smith take a win to move ahead in the title battle, or will another driver be able to take the win? We will have to wait two weeks to find out these things and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 2- Jamie Dick had a tire problem in turn 3 and slammed the outside wall after a spin.

2nd Caution: Lap 67- Debris was spotted on the backstretch of the track.

3rd Caution: Lap 73- Dylan Kwasniewski made contact with Chase Elliott in turn 1 and Elliott made slight contact with the wall.

4th Caution: Lap 130- Josh Wise slowed on track and left some fluid on the speedway.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Regan Smith
3rd Caution: Chris Buescher
4th Caution: James Buescher

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Larson
2nd: Kevin Harvick
3rd: Kyle Busch
4th: Joey Logano
5th: Elliott Sadler

Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Chase Elliott
7th: Matt Kenseth
8th: Ty Dillon
9th: Trevor Bayne
10th: Regan Smith
11th: Dylan Kwasniewski
12th: Brian Scott
16th: James Buescher
17th: Ryan Reed





Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/live-standings.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2014_TreatMyClot.com_300/B
-Image:
http://www.trbimg.com/img-532e2254/turbine/la-kyle-larson-20140322/600