NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola called it a “Mickey Mouse restart” during Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Ryan Preece added: “It’s kind of stupid, to be honest with you on a professional level and we all wreck on a restart.”
A restart?
“It sucks,” Preece told Ford Performance PR.
Almirola pointed the blame to one of the race leaders who apparently drove defensively and kept the trailing pack in a tight group in the restart zone on Lap 87.
“I took off and went from second to third gear and all of a sudden everybody in front of us just stopped,” Almirola said, via Ford Performance PR. “I think the leader was just playing games. … They should have been accelerating.
Instead, “it was just a huge accordion effect” on the Cup Series’ final race at the two-mile D-shaped oval.
Among the notable machines caught up in the wreck were Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, pole-sitter Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe and Ty Dillon.
Reddick said he had nowhere to go.
“I saw them stacked up pretty bad,” he told Fox Sports. “I elected to shoot to the bottom to get around it. Unfortunately, I think, Ryan had the same idea. Got collected and went to the grass.”
One more incredible accomplishment for The Closer.
Retweet to congratulate @KevinHarvick who will make his 750th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series start today! pic.twitter.com/2XMEM864fl
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 26, 2023
Kevin Harvick Makes 750th Consecutive Start
In his final season as a full-time Cup competitor, Kevin Harvick continues to add to his Hall of Fame resume. He has not missed a race in 7,623 days.
The 23-year Cup veteran announced he will retire from his Stewart-Haas Racing ride after the 2023 season. Harvick on Sunday started in his 750th consecutive Cup event, becoming the third pilot in series history to reach that plateau.
“The Closer” only trails all-time leader Jeff Gordon, who compiled 787 consecutive starts, and Ricky Rudd (788). Harvick last missed a Cup race at Martinsville Speedway on April 2, 2002.
Harvick’s pit crew helped him take the lead at the start of Stage 3 Sunday and finished fifth.
The five-wide salute never gets old.
📍@AutoClubSpdwy pic.twitter.com/dvCyZtLaej
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 26, 2023
Final Lap Around Auto Club Speedway
Kyle Larson, the defending race champion, experienced electrical problems on Lap 14 and finished 29th. … Ross Chastain led 92 laps and captured both stage wins for the first time in his career. … Through two stages, the race featured 16 lead changes by eight different drivers. … Martin Truex Jr. lost a tire on Lap 79. … After heavy rains canceled practice and qualifying sessions Saturday, NASCAR had a crew out drying the track from 5:30 a.m. PT until just before the green flag signaled the start of the final Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.
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