ON THE TRACKS Saturday’s auto racing results

NASCAR

Harvick’s push helps Larson secure win

CONCORD, N.C.

Kyle Larson got a push to the front from Kevin Harvick in the final stage, then held off the defending champion to win the NASCAR All-Star Race on Saturday night.

Larson wasn’t part of the elite field when the day began, racing his way in by winning the Monster Energy Open earlier at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now, he’s got $1 million for the win and plenty to celebrate in a season where he’s had only three top 10s and his biggest highlight was a frightening, airborne crash at Talladega Superspeedway last month.

“It feels amazing,” Larson said. “I came close to winning a couple of years ago. It feels good to close it out.”

Larson did it with a decisive shove through the pack by Harvick, a two-time All-Star champion who was eager for a third. Larson was sixth in the next-to-last restart with 12 laps left when he found enough space to squeeze between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. Harvick jumped on Larson’s bumper and powered him into the lead.

Harvick didn’t count on Larson keeping it, though. Larson, a Chip Ganassi Racing driver, often had Busch and Harvick side-by-side in his rear-view mirror but held them off to take the victory.

Harvick was second, Busch was third and Logano was fourth.

Soon after Larson took the checkered flag, pole sitter Clint Bowyer ran to Ryan Newman’s car and began raining punches through the window before the two were separated by a crew member.

Newman said Bowyer “chopped” him on the track and hit him once more later in the race.

“Doesn’t take much of a man to try and fight somebody with a helmet on. I think he should be embarrassed of himself,” Newman said.

Bowyer said he didn’t know why Newman hit his car.

“After the race, he comes and runs into my back and turns me all around. I pull up next to him and he dumps me into [turn] four,” Bowyer said. “Where I come from, you get punched in the nose for that, and that’s what he got.”

Larson had not reached Victory Lane since winning four times in 2017, his most successful Cup season. While this win carries no points, it surely fuels Larson and his team with renewed confidence this season.

“It’s been a struggle. I’ve had a lot of bad luck,” Larson said. “These last few weeks have gone pretty smooth for us. To get a win, a big win, hopefully this is the turning point in our season.”

Kyle Busch won the opening stage, Harvick the second, Logan the third before

INDY

McLaren’s Alonso fails to qualify on first day

INDIANAPOLIS

McLaren’s return to the Indianapolis 500 neared a total collapse after Fernando Alonso failed to lock himself into the field on the first day of qualifying.

The two-day qualifying process guaranteed a spot in the May 26 race for the fastest 30 cars in Saturday qualifying. It took Alonso four attempts just to crack the benchmark, but he was knocked out by Graham Rahal, the final driver to make his run as the pistol was fired to signal the end of the session.

The two-time Formula One world champion watched Rahal knock him into Sunday’s last-gasp group, hopped from his car and briskly walked down pit lane. He stopped briefly to sign a handful of autographs but seemed frustrated with McLaren’s weeklong struggle at Indy.

“We didn’t have the speed,” the Spaniard said. “If we don’t make it, it is because we don’t deserve it.”

McLaren returned to the Indy 500 this year for the first time since the 1970s as an expected rehearsal for a fulltime IndyCar entrant. Alonso needs only to win the Indy 500 to complete motorsports’ version of the Triple Crown, but no one expected the proud McLaren organization to struggle so much on each day the track has been open.

The car had an electrical problem during last month’s testing and was plagued with similar issues on opening day. The alternator and wiring loom needed to be replaced, then Alonso crashed and hit the wall three times Wednesday. McLaren missed nearly two days on track trying to ready a backup car, which finally got out Friday.

And it was slow.

And it was still slow when qualifying began Saturday.

“[It’s] kind of a frantic situation trying to get the car comfortable for him and he’s doing all he can do,” said driver coach Johnny Rutherford, a two-time Indy 500 winner for McLaren.

Alonso’s first run was spoiled by a cut tire, his next two just weren’t up to an acceptable speed. He finally cracked the top-30 on his fourth run but knew it might not hold, so he waited inside his car in case he got a final shot to avoid the “Last Row Shootout” on Sunday. Six drivers will get one qualifying attempt for the final three spots in the field.

“At the moment, all we can try to do is the four laps, clean, no mistakes, flat on the floor,” Alonso said. “Then, if it’s enough to be in the top three of six, we’ll take it and we’ll try to go race. If it is not enough, if we are the fourth, fifth or sixth, it is what we deserve.”

Associated Press