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Fontana NASCAR: Kyle Larson wins for Ganassi

Kyle Larson took the NASCAR Cup race victory at Fontana after gambling on a late pitstop

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was in a heated battle with Martin Truex Jr for most of the race, both of them taking stage wins and then scrapping for the lead as the final segment began.

Truex was struggling relative to his rival through Turns 1 and 2, allowing Larson to build a lead.

When a late caution was prompted by Corey LaJoie crashing, Truex stayed out along with Denny Hamlin as most others pitted.

But at the restart Larson was able to make use of his fresher tyres and overtake both even before an incident for Ricky Stenhouse Jr brought out another yellow and led to an overtime finish.

Larson made a break at the final restart and secured his first Cup win since Michigan last year, completing a superb weekend that had also included Cup pole and an Xfinity Series victory.

Truex dropped to fourth place as Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer surged through having also pitted for fresh rubber.

Keselowski's second place for Penske completed a comeback drive following an early clash with Jimmie Johnson, with use of the free pass and alternative pitstop strategies bringing him back into contention.

Joey Logano also surged into the lead battle amid the late restarts, ending up fifth, while Ganassi had two cars in the top six as Jamie McMurray finished sixth ahead of top rookie Daniel Suarez.

Kyle Busch fell back in the final part of the race after fighting for the lead for a spell and finished eighth, with Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott completing the top 10.

Pos Driver Team Car Laps
1 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 202
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 202
3 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 202
4 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 202
5 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 202
6 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 202
7 Daniel Suarez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 202
8 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 202
9 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 202
10 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 202
11 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 202
12 Erik Jones Furniture Row Racing Toyota 202
13 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 202
14 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 202
15 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 202
16 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 202
17 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 202
18 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 202
19 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 202
20 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 202
21 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 202
22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 202
23 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 202
24 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 201
25 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 201
26 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200
27 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 200
28 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200
29 Matt DiBenedetto Go FAS Racing Ford 200
30 Corey LaJoie BK Racing Toyota 200
31 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 199
32 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 199
33 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 198
34 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 197
35 Timmy Hill Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 193
36 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 184
37 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 173
38 Derrike Cope Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 117
39 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport / TMG Chevrolet 99

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Kyle Larson 243
2 Chase Elliott 214
3 Martin Truex Jr. 205
4 Brad Keselowski 179
5 Joey Logano 174
6 Jamie McMurray 162
7 Ryan Blaney 157
8 Clint Bowyer 143
9 Kevin Harvick 137
10 Kyle Busch 136
11 Ryan Newman 123
12 Denny Hamlin 123
13 Kasey Kahne 122
14 Kurt Busch 118
15 Erik Jones 116
16 Trevor Bayne 114
17 Jimmie Johnson 109
18 Aric Almirola 108
19 Daniel Suarez 102
20 Austin Dillon 92
21 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 91
22 Paul Menard 87
23 Ty Dillon 87
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 86
25 Matt Kenseth 73
26 Michael McDowell 66
27 Landon Cassill 65
28 Matt DiBenedetto 64
29 Danica Patrick 63
30 A.J. Allmendinger 59

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