Kyle Larson gets to know Olympus

The pilots were apprehensive about this recovery and for good reason. Starting a race at the Glen without testing after a 3-week break due to the Olympic break represents quite a challenge. This route with 11 turns, although shorter than the one taken by the Indycar this year, offers no respite to the drivers and mechanics. By winning, Kyle Larson confirmed that he is indeed the strong man of this season.

Published on 09/08/2021 à 00:22

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The first segment of 20 laps should therefore above all allow the drivers to regain their bearings and the big loser is none other than pole sitter Brad Keselowski. From the first laps the Team Penske driver locked up his wheels at turn 1, and we know that instability when braking on these heavy sedans is never a good sign.

It's recovery time at Watkins Glen © Sean Gardner/Getty Images

The future driver/owner of Roush Fenway Racing was not even able to safely reach the competition yellow flag scheduled for the tenth lap by making a mistake on the 9th lap. The rest of the race will be an ordeal which he will finish in 35th place. His teammate Joey Logano won the segment ahead of the two regular championship leaders Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsport) and Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing).

.@keselowski and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day pic.twitter.com/NqZDC3yepe

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 8

Le deuxième segment confirme les impressions de grandes tensions au sein du peloton. Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) et Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) entre autres frôlent la correctionnelle tandis que Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) parti de la dernière ligne suite à plusieurs échecs aux vérifications voit sa remontée perturbée par un énorme plat qui l’oblige à repasser aux stands sous drapeau vert. Deux Toyota de la Joe Gibbs Racing terminent ce tronçon en tête, Martin Truex Jr. devançant Christopher Bell parti également du fond de grille.

Martin Truex Jr. leads Christopher Bell at the end of the second segment © Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

No yellow flag will disturb the last 50 laps offering us a particularly intense finale. Christopher Bell will be the first to lose any chance of victory by making a mistake, helped, it must be admitted, by a slight push from Larson. Martin Truex Jr. will heroically resist the driver of the #5 Chevrolet Camaro before ceding command of the race in the pits. Larson will only have to control the return of a wild Chase Elliott to pick up his 5th victory of the season and finally take control of the regular season standings. Behind the two strong men from Hendrick Motorsports, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin ensure a nice group shot for Joe Gibbs Racing.