The stakes are high in a race, whether you’re at the top or on the verge of elimination. If you’re leading, you’re under constant pressure to maintain that position. On the other hand, if you’re on the brink, you need to fight hard to cut. The former was the story of Kyle Larson, while the latter applied to four racers, two of whom were involved in the wreck ignited by Kyle Larson.

Considering the point standings after the rain-delayed FireKeepers Casino 400, the drivers currently on the brink are Daniel Suarez and Kyle Busch. However, the two drivers who were on the outskirts of the Playoff battle but got caught up in Larson’s wreck were Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe.

Kyle Larson wasn’t surprised by his spinoff

Before this weekend’s race, Kyle Larson was at the top of the Cup standings. The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion has had a phenomenal year so far, with four race wins under his belt. Larson had a good start to the race at Michigan, but the race restart during the second stage left him in ninth place. However, that wouldn’t have hurt him as much as his impatience did.

Coming onto the track at turn three, Larson found himself in a three-wide situation. In ideal circumstances, he should have backed out to prevent a wreck, but he let the pressure of advancing get the better of him. This decision ended up taking six other cars off-track with him. The #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver later accepted his mistake and realized how costly it had been for the team.

“With the hard tires that we run here, it’s really easy to lose traction. So no, I wasn’t like surprised, but yeah, I just, you’re just trying to be forceful and moving yourself up on the track. And like I said, I just put myself in a weird aero spot,” Larson told Bob Pockrass. Larson slid to 4th in the standings after finishing 34th at Michigan International Speedway, allowing Tyler Reddick to take the victory lane and the Series lead.

Larson’s desperation affected six other drivers, but only two had stakes similar to his, and only one of those drivers had an adverse result. Chase Briscoe was in 17th place after Richmond, but the Michigan race left him in 18th, moving Kyle Busch up in the rankings. This race was a pleasant surprise for Busch, who finished in a desirable 4th place.

All the drivers involved, except perhaps Busch, must be quite disgruntled with the wrecking incident after a long and grueling race. But this was not the only spinout that ended in a wreck at Michigan.

What happened to the #7 Chevrolet Camaro?

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Corey LaJoie was battling Noah Gragson for the top-20 spot in the race when he made contact with Gragson’s left rear. The #7 car spun out at that moment, dramatically flipping in a blowover crash and sending shivers down spines. The incident was the second of its kind for the 32-year-old driver; the first occured at Talladega Superspeedway.

After being released from the infield care center, LaJoie told the media that he has had a rough year in terms of car handling. In LaJoie’s defense, many drivers faced issues with aerodynamics in certain areas on the Michigan Speedway. As Larson explained, “I wouldn’t call it unexpected. You know, how weird the air gets over there. You know, with the hard tires that we run here, it’s really easy to lose traction.”

Now, only two regular season races remain, both of which are iconic and have the potential to significantly impact the Cup standings. The final showdown before the Playoffs might very well come down to point tallying.