Sports

Kyle Larson has rough start in Daytona 500 debut with 2 early incidents

Associated Press
Published | Updated

The field take the green flag to start the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (The Associated Press)

Daytona International Speedway's $400-million expansion is slated for completion in January 2016. (The Associated Press)

Kyle Larson's debut in the Daytona 500 got off to a rough start with two early issues.

The Sprint Cup Series rookie hit the wall in the opening laps of Sunday's race. It caused his right front tire to go flat and he had to pit under green for repairs to the No. 42 Chevrolet.

The incident immediately put the 21-year-old down one lap from the rest of the field.

Larson then developed another problem with his tire and spun through the Daytona International Speedway grass on Lap 22 to bring out the first caution of the race.

Larson replaced Juan Pablo Montoya this year at Chip Ganassi Racing. Sponsor Target this week welcomed him to the organization with a YouTube video made with home videos from his childhood.