Kyle Larson’s season of bad luck continued in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Larson appeared to have a left-side tire go flat on Lap 47, sending him into the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barrier attached to the outside wall on the backstretch. His No. 42 Chevrolet car bounced off and turned left upon impact, crossed the track and slammed head-on into the SAFER barrier on the inside wall.
Upon that second impact, Larson’s car violently bounced off and spun several times before coming to a stop.
Larson, who started on the outside of Row 16 (32nd position) in Sunday’s race, was taken by ambulance to the Speedway infield medical care center, where he was evaluated and released. He said he was unable to slow down before the second collision.
“As I was going down the backstretch, I think it was my left rear got cut,” Larson told Fox Sports. “I think it must have ripped the brake line because I pushed the (brake) pedal in, and it went straight to the floorboard. I couldn’t slow down.
“It definitely was a hard hit there, probably one of the harder ones of my career. Even before, we were pretty sub-average; we were pretty bad. I’m disappointed with our run today, but I’m glad we’re all right.”
After finishing seventh in the season-opening Daytona 500, Larson finished 26h at Atlanta and 34th at Las Vegas, before rebounding for 12th last week at Phoenix International Raceway.
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