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CONCORD, N.C. (AP) - Kyle Larson ran well in his Sprint Cup debut before blowing an engine with 87 laps remaining in the 334-lap race.
Larson started 21st in his No. 51 Chevrolet and climbed to as high as 12th midway through the race. He faded after losing a cylinder and not much later his night ended when his engine failed.
Despite the poor luck, Larson said "I had a lot of fun tonight."
Larson is replacing Juan Pablo Montoya as the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet next year.
Larson wasn't the only driver with a Hendrick's engine to have a rough night. Mark Martin's engine blew up early in the race.
"We broke a valve spring earlier and we were trying to nurse it along to maybe a caution where we could possible work on it a little bit where it wouldn't self-destruct, but we didn't get that," Martin said. "When you run with one broken spring a lot of times you wind up failing something else. I hate that for everybody."
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