Kyle Larson made a triumphant return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, winning the Brickyard 400, two months after a heartbreaking attempt at the Indy 500/Coke 600 double. His victory completed an incredible story, though some NASCAR fans felt it was too good to be true.
Larson’s win was shrouded in controversy, leading to suggestions that NASCAR may have rigged the result in his favor. Larson had been fast all day but found himself behind Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney as the laps dwindled.
A late-race caution bunched the field up, giving Larson one last shot at victory. Before the restart, Keselowski ran out of fuel and pulled off the track, moving Larson from third to first. Blaney remained in second and watched Larson take the lead on the preferred line when the race resumed.
Shortly after, another wreck brought out the caution and sent the race into a second overtime.
Blaney expressed his frustration over the radio, saying, “There’s no way they should’ve let that go green. That’s ridiculous. They just GAVE it to him (Kyle Larson). It’s f—— over, I’m on the top. I ain’t gonna win from the top. Gave it to f—— golden boy. Son of a b—-.”
The situation grew more contentious as the race restarted. Larson pulled away from Blaney, and shortly after, Ryan Preece spun and crashed into the inside wall. NASCAR delayed throwing the caution flag, allowing Larson to pass the start-finish line and see the white flag, effectively ending the race.