Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson prevailed after a 110-lap contest which changed complexion several times due to the spate of incidents.
Ironically, he scythed his way back to the lead in a final stage which ran green from start to finish, with Michael McDowell four seconds back in second place after he was sent spinning during Stage 2.
In a bad day all-round for the Supercars drivers, Cam Waters failed to finish after incurring damage to his RFK Racing Ford in multiple incidents, including a melee at Turn 11.
Brown had started 24th after a throttle problem in qualifying left his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with only around 75 percent of full power, and would be struck by electrical gremlins in the race itself.
He had gradually climbed to 11th on merit by late in Stage 1, mostly on merit but also benefiting from some pit stops and incidents ahead of him, while replays suggested it was he who caused Martin Truex Jnr to spin at Turn 2 on Lap 7.
When a third Caution came on Lap 19, Brown was among a handful to roll the dice on strategy with a pit stop and lined up in 21st for the next restart.
Secure your spot today.
He finished Stage 1 in 26th and had dropped outside the top 30 by the time he pulled off at the exit of Turn 11 just two laps into Stage 2.
The Toowoomban drove the #33 Camaro back to the pits during that yellow and resumed two laps down.
He dropped as far as four laps off the pace before eventually making it home with 107 laps to his name.
Waters had started even further back, in 31st, and was finding progress more difficult than Brown had.
Nevertheless, he was creeping forward in the #60 Mustang and sat just outside the top 10 in a somewhat jumbled running order when mayhem ensued on the restart lap immediately after the Brown Caution.
Waters experienced contact left and right as cars sprayed everywhere at Turn 11, which bent his steering before a second incident put paid to his day with just 66 laps to his name and Car #60 classified 35th all-told.
While the stream of Cautions in the first two stages meant the order chopped and changed with regularity, three drivers looked strong chances of victory during the afternoon.
Initially it was pole-sitter Joey Logano, who led for the first 17 laps in his #22 Team Penske Ford before strategically pitting under the second Caution period.
However, that put him in the pack for the restart and he was unable to avoid a spinning Chase Briscoe (#14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) at Turn 8, forcing him back into the pits to fix the damage.
Logano managed to finish on the lead lap in 21st but was not a realistic contender after the hit with Briscoe.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Tyler Reddick had assumed the lead under the second Caution and was the effective front-runner until he was passed by Larson upon exiting the pits after both had opted to ‘flip’ the end of Stage 2.
Moments later, as they braked for Turn 4, Reddick gave Larson a nudge which caused his #45 Toyota to briefly jump into the air and lock the right-front tyre when it landed.
Reddick lost another spot, to Ross Chastain (#1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet), as a result, while Larson was clearly in the ascendancy.
The Hendrick driver finally led on official terms when AJ Allmendinger (#16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet) pitted on Lap 70, before Larson made his final stop 10 laps later.
When that final pit stop cycle wrapped up with 26 laps to go, Larson was only sixth, but the #5 Chevrolet had pace and he set about picking off those in front of him.
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher (#17 Ford) gave Martin Truex Jnr (#19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) a sniff on Lap 99 when he ran wide at Turn 10 and the 2017 Cup champion eventually prised the lead off him as they climbed Turn 2, with 2021 Cup champ Larson following him past.
Larson had newer tyres than Truex Jnr and it showed when the JGR pilot ran wide at Turn 4 on Lap 102, losing top spot as they exited the corner.
From there, Larson was not headed, while Truex Jnr ran out of fuel on the very last lap and plummeted to 27th, last of those on the lead lap.
The 2024 NASCAR season continues next weekend at Iowa, while Brown and Waters will be back in the Repco Supercars Championship field for the Betr Darwin Triple Crown.
Discussion about this post