Kyle Larson’s NASCAR playoffs lead was stolen by a rival after he fell a lap down in Las Vegas, only to recover to 11th.
It was acceptable damage limitation for a man who came into the weekend with a 20-point lead, only to watch on as it was flipped to a seven-point deficit to Christopher Bell.
There is a long way to go, with the final three races now crucial for his hopes of claiming a second NASCAR title.
Another race like he just suffered could see him drop out of the Round of 8 and eliminated from contention for the championship race.
Kyle Larson suffered ‘biggest mess’ of a pit stop
Larson has been on top form for much of 2024, but has failed to keep consistent enough to hold a lead in he drivers’ standings.
Any driver with double the amount of wins of any other driver on the grid at this stage in the season should be out front – but somehow he’s not.
Speaking to the NASCAR website after the race, he talked through how his race turned sour after an encouraging start.
“Extremely hard. We had a bad end of the first stage and then had to fix the damage that we had. Then, I was like, ‘OK, we’re going to have a good day here.’ I think I got to eighth before the green-flag cycle.
“I was much better than the guys in front of us and thought we would finish the end of the stage in third or fourth and then we had the biggest mess of a pit stop I think I’ve ever seen. That was just unfortunate.”
What must Larson do to make the championship race?
Larson has a somewhat comfortable 35-point margin behind to ensure that he makes the end of the NASCAR championship.
By making the top four he will remain in contention heading into the season finale no matter what else happens on track.
It’s crucial that he avoids another race like Vegas, having suffered a few this year already – in Kansas he finished 26th after a puncture too.
Christopher Bell has applied pressure at the right stage and now he has seized the initiative, it will be interesting to see how things play out.
That’s without considering all the other drivers at play, all competing for the same prize who won’t be willing to spare any quarter to their rivals.