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Kyle Busch and Larson collide in spectacular finish at Chicagoland

Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson hit each other on the final lap and Busch emerged with his fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season.

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates

Barry Cantrell / NKP / Motorsport Images

Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Credit One Bank spins after contact with Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue celebrates
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue
Race winner Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Red White & Blue
Paul Menard, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford Fusion Menards / Sylvania and Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Ford Fusion PPG pace laps
Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Credit One Bank

Busch appeared headed to the win but lapped traffic allowed Larson to close on the No. 18’s rear bumper on the final lap.

Larson nudged Busch to take the lead and Busch returned the favor and spun Larson, hitting the wall in the process but had enough momentum to claim the win in Sunday.

 

"He tried to pull a slide job and didn't get it all the way," Busch said of Larson's move on the last lap. "He wasn't close enough to get it all the way.

"When he got into us, I got into the wall and killed my right-side and it was on after that. It was who can get back to the checkered flag first. This (car) was horrible today but we made the most of it. We adjusted the entire race to be where we need to be at the end.

"We got some clean air finally - my pit crew did a great job helping me there to get this race car out front."

Kevin Harvick finished third, Martin Truex Jr. was fourth and Clint Bowyer completed the top-five.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman.

The win is Busch’s fifth of the season and 48th of his career.

Following pit stops during the break between Stages 2 and 3, Harvick was the first off pit road and continued to hold the lead when Stage 3 went green on Lap 168. He was followed by Kurt Busch and Truex.

Busch quickly powered past Harvick on the restart with Larson moving into second.

On Lap 171, Larson got around Busch to take the lead for the first time in the race.

Two laps later, Harvick moved back up into second and began working on Larson for the lead.

Harvick reclaimed the lead on Lap 176.

Hamlin spun off Turn 2 on Lap 177 to bring out a caution. All of the lead-lap cars elected to pit and Logano came off pit road first thanks to a two-tire pit stop. Keselowski and Aric Almirola stayed out.

Daniel Suarez was penalized for speeding on pit road during the stops.

On the restart on Lap 181, it was Keselowski, Almirola, Logano, Harvick and Larson.

On Lap 185, Harvick moved up into the second position with Logano dropping to third.

On the next lap, Harvick got around Keselowski – who had stayed out under the previous caution – to retake the lead.

With 70 laps remaining in the race, Harvick moved out to a more than three second lead over Kyle Busch as a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for the area around the speedway.

Corey LaJoie hit the wall on Lap 208 to bring out another caution. All of the lead-lap cars elected to pit for tires and fuel. Paul Menard and Trevor Bayne were both penalized for speeding on pit road.

Kyle Busch was first off pit road and took over the lead on the restart on Lap 212. He was followed by Harvick, Larson, Truex and Jones.

On Lap 220, Almirola was forced to pit for the second time in the race with a loose wheel. He was running eighth at the time.

With 45 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Busch maintained a small lead over Harvick followed by Truex.

With 30 to go, Harvick trailed Kyle Busch by about a second and was having difficulty trying to close the gap. Larson moved into the third position with 25 laps remaining.

Larson moved into the second position with 19 laps left.

With 10 laps remaining, Larson had closed to within half a second of Kyle Busch with Harvick far back in third.

With seven laps left, Larson appeared to brush the wall, which slowed his momentum.

Cla#DriverManufacturerLapsTimeLaps Led
1 18 united_states Kyle Busch  Toyota 267   59
2 42 united_states Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 267 1.875 7
3 4 united_states Kevin Harvick  Ford 267 2.319 39
4 78 united_states Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 267 4.944  
5 14 united_states Clint Bowyer  Ford 267 10.616 21
6 20 united_states Erik Jones  Toyota 267 15.401  
7 11 united_states Denny Hamlin  Toyota 267 18.520  
8 22 united_states Joey Logano  Ford 267 20.606  
9 2 united_states Brad Keselowski  Ford 267 21.147 16
10 88 united_states Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 267 22.015  
11 19 mexico Daniel Suarez  Toyota 267 22.061  
12 1 united_states Jamie McMurray  Chevrolet 267 28.035  
13 21 united_states Paul Menard  Ford 267 29.029 1
14 48 united_states Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 267 29.050  
15 31 united_states Ryan Newman  Chevrolet 267 31.206 3
16 17 united_states Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 266 1 lap  
17 41 united_states Kurt Busch  Ford 266 1 lap 20
18 12 united_states Ryan Blaney  Ford 266 1 lap 19
19 9 united_states Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 266 1 lap  
20 24 united_states William Byron  Chevrolet 266 1 lap  
21 34 united_states Michael McDowell  Ford 266 1 lap  
22 37 united_states Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 266 1 lap  
23 43 united_states Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 266 1 lap  
24 47 united_states A.J. Allmendinger  Chevrolet 266 1 lap  
25 10 united_states Aric Almirola  Ford 266 1 lap 70
26 6 united_states Trevor Bayne  Ford 265 2 laps  
27 95 united_states Kasey Kahne  Chevrolet 264 3 laps  
28 13 united_states Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 264 3 laps  
29 32 united_states Matt DiBenedetto  Ford 262 5 laps  
30 15 united_states Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 261 6 laps  
31 23 united_states Gray Gaulding  Toyota 260 7 laps  
32 07 united_states Reed Sorenson  Chevrolet 259 8 laps  
33 99 united_states Kyle Weatherman  Chevrolet 255 12 laps  
34 72 united_states Corey Lajoie  Chevrolet 233 34 laps  
35 51 united_states B.J. McLeod  Ford 227 40 laps  
36 00 united_states Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 224 43 laps  
37 3 united_states Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 189 78 laps 13
38 38 united_states David Ragan  Ford 189 78 laps  
39 66 united_states Timmy Hill  Toyota 185 82 laps  

 

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