The late-race restart call from last weekend’s showdown at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has ignited a firestorm of debate. Kyle Larson being bumped up to the front row during the crucial restart raised eyebrows and stirred controversy among fans and drivers alike. However, for NASCAR, it was a split second that they stood by as the right call.

NASCAR’s decision call was called out by racing enthusiasts online, questioning their intent in favoring the HMS star. However, with Brad Keselowski deciding to pit at the very last moment, Larson didn’t have any choice but to take the front row. While Ryan Blaney was fuming over this judgment call, Kevin Harvick believes there was no foul play on Larson’s part, as he acknowledged him as the rightful winner.

Kyle Larson was favored by Lady Luck, says Kevin Harvick

With the race going down to the wire in an overtime finish, Larson had the edge over both Blaney and Keselowski in terms of fuel. But he still had to get past Blaney to contest for the lead. It was a big surprise to see the No. 6 car stay out despite running on fumes. While he could’ve conceded a lead during the green lap runs, the veteran RFK Racing driver made a surprising move, heading to pit road while the race was about to go green again.

Blaney, for the time being, had managed to hold off the late charge by Larson, but his efforts were in vain as he saw the No. 5 being promoted to the front row. Although it was a controversial call by NASCAR to let things flow, Harvick found no foul play by the HMS star on the restart. “I went back and watched it a couple times; I don’t see anything that I would call a penalty from Larson jumping the start. They took off about the same time, and he just beat Blaney through the gear; it looked like to me.” The former RCR driver said this on his show Happy Hour.

Harvick did agree that Kyle Larson had everything going his way that catapulted him to a memorable win. “You get into this scenario if you say OK, NASCAR should throw the caution. Well, now we have a fuel mileage racing and you go two more laps with a caution; there’s just some of these things that happened, and it’s just luck of the racing gods, and Kyle Larson got that moment where he was granted a gift because they were coming to the green.”

In fact, Larson himself was shocked to see Keselowski hitting the pit road just before the restart. In all fairness, had the No. 6 Ford stayed out, he would’ve stalled Larson’s progress on the restart. Heck, it could’ve sparked a big pile-up, which would have ended his hopes for the win. But when he was presented with an opportunity to win the race, he certainly made the most of it.

The stars aligned for the HMS star in bagging a crown jewel win to his name

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The Brickyard 400 race was all about strategy and executing the race well. However, the contenders, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin, saving fuel to make it to the finish line opened a window for Larson to take command of the race. With 20 laps remaining in the race, he understood that he could still be in the hunt for the win if he pressured the lead cars into burning more fuel.

Well, his strategy worked wonders as he weaved his way up the field, passing the likes of Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, and even his frenemy Denny Hamlin. But little did he know that he would be in a prime position to make a move for the win on the first overtime attempt. “I was going to choose behind him no matter what lane he took, just in hopes that he would run out before we got to the restart zone.”

“I was trying to pay attention to (Keselowski) when he was cycling his engine, trying to clean and warm his tires up just to see if there was any bit of stumble. Yeah, he just ducked off onto pit road. I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is going exactly how we had kind of hoped and had thought about.” The HMS star said this after the race.

With this triumph at the Brickyard 400, Kyle Larson only needs a Daytona 500 win to become a driver to have won all four crown jewel NASCAR races.