Kyle Larson looked to be in firm control of a second straight win in the last two days at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
Following his win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday night, Larson’s bid for a weekend sweep was alive and well.
The 2021 Cup Series champion was in charge for most of the day as he held an over 12-second lead with 15 laps to go. However, a caution flag late in the race erased his massive gap.
With the race going into overtime, Larson started on the inside of the front row. A mistimed push from Sam Mayer broke Larson’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet loose as the green flag waved, allowing the outside lane to surge.
Larson was unable to rebound in the final two laps as he was forced to settle for fourth after leading a race-high 132 laps.
Last week’s winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier, scampered off to a second straight win.
Following the aftermath, Larson wasn’t pleased with Mayer’s restart.
“I’ve lived through it a number of times here, obviously a bummer to have another Homestead race play out that way,” said Larson.
“I can’t go when my rear tires are off the ground. I did everything I thought I could and the 41 just lagged back and slammed the [expletive] of me. Bummer, but cool to have had that big lead at the end.”
Larson will look to rebound on Sunday from 14th on the grid for the Cup Series race.
