We all know how Kyle Larson made the race-winning move on the final restart of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.
But on Tuesday’s NASCAR America, NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte said Larson laid the foundation for the win even earlier in the race.
“While that last restart was very impressive, and without a doubt was the moment that the 42 actually won the race, I think it started way earlier in the race,” Letarte said. “About the 75 percent mark, we had a lot of leaders running on the race track under green and it was pretty stretched out.
“The 78 of Martin Truex Jr., who at this point looked like he had the race under control, came to pit road for four tires. He drew the 2 of Brad Keselowski with him, but not the 42 (Larson). The (42 crew) decided to leave the 42 on the racetrack, stuck with their guns and strategy, and it ended up paying off.
“When the 22 came to pit road and debris from his car created the next-to-last yellow, that was an important point because that’s what the 42 needed. The decision to pit was pretty easy for fuel, but I think the tough decision was how many tires. (Crew chief) Chad Johnston made a very gutsy move, he put four tires and I think that made a big difference.”
