It was a less-than-ideal start to the Bank of America ROVAL 400 race weekend for Kyle Larson and Ty Dillon as both drivers crashed into the outside wall during NASCAR Cup Series practice early on Saturday afternoon.
Dillon was the first car to go into the outside wall, as his car got a little loose, and veered into the outside wall in the opening minutes of the session.
Here is a video of Dillon’s excursion into the outside wall:
Not an ideal start to the weekend for Ty Dillon, who went into the wall early in #NASCAR Cup Series practice. pic.twitter.com/xj2T2SgsAe
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) October 7, 2023
The No. 77 Spire Motorsports team looked over Dillon’s car for quite a while in the garage area, but ultimately decided to move to a backup car for Sunday’s race.
As Group A’s practice session was coming to a close, Larson, who enters the race weekend 15 points above the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff cutline, also lost control heading into the high banked oval Turn 1 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Here is a video of Larson’s accident:
Here’s the video of Kyle Larson getting into the wall in practice. pic.twitter.com/YGdZLvwwUv
— Jay W. Pennell (@jaywpennell) October 7, 2023
Larson, as a result of the crash, will not turn a lap in qualifying and will start Sunday’s Round of 12 elimination race from the rear of the field. The team will also move to a backup car after it determined the damage was too severe to repair on site at the track.
While it’s not ideal, Larson has been one of the best in the sport on road courses over the last few years.
The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 should still carry some confidence into the weekend despite the issues.
