Larson lurks, snatches Xfinity overtime win at COTA to spoil van Gisbergen's impressive race
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kyle Larson passed Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill on the final lap in double overtime to win the Xfinity road course race Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas.
Van Gisbergen looked to be in control and heading to his first career Xfinity win ahead of his season debut in the Cup series on Sunday. But two caution flags forced two overtimes, and Hill passed him with a bump into the first corner on the second restart.
Lurking behind them was Larson, the Cup Series leader who saw his opening for the race lead halfway through the final lap and passed both cars. Van Gisbergen crossed the line second, but was hit with a 30-second time penalty for cutting the corners on the track's section of s-curves on the final lap that dropped him to 28th.
“I was not the fastest but we were patient,” Larson said. “Pretty crazy and wild there.”
Larson fought all the way from the back of the field at the start to earn his 15th career Xfinity win. Larson had qualified for pole position but was penalized when his team had to replace a broken brake rotor before the race.
Van Gisbergen started on pole and the ragged finish spoiled an otherwise outstanding day for the New Zealand driver, who had been in a two-car duel with Kaulig Racing teammate A.J. Allmendinger most of the race. The drive was an impressive preview of what could come from the former Australian Supercars champion in Sunday's Cup race, the first road course race of the season.
Van Gisbergen won the street race in Chicago last year and had another top-10 finish that prompted him to make a fulltime push in NASCAR in 2024.
“It was a crazy race,” van Gisbergen said. “That last restart (Hill) just drove through me. It was pretty awesome acing. At the end it just turned into a mess.”
UP NEXT
The series moves to short track racing next Saturday at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
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