Kyle Larson wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen

A race that started in the rain ended with Kyle Larson in the clear.

Larson took the lead from Chase Elliott, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, by forcing Elliott to the outside on a restart with five laps to go and outran AJ Allmendinger to the finish to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.

Elliott, a winner four times this year, locked up the regular season championship during the race but was in excellent position to win again Sunday before dropping back on the final restart. He finished fourth.

“I knew that was my only opportunity,” Larson said. “I’m not proud of it, but I knew it’s what I had to do to get the win. I felt like our cars were pretty equal.”

Elliott appeared to have the win locked up as he appeared to have the fastest car in the final stage, but Larson’s aggressive move on the restart in crowded traffic cost him any shot at victory lane.

Immediately after the race, Elliott did not criticize Larson’s move. “Congratulations,” Elliott said. “He did a great job. Seriously, they deserve it.”

The victory ended a 22-race winless streak for Larson.

Joey Logano was third, and Daniel Suarez took fifth.

The race was the next-to-last event of the Cup Series regular season.

Former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, racing in the Cup Series for the first time, was knocked out of the race early in the final stage. His car was hit in the middle of heavy traffic in the bus stop section of the track, and the contact sent Raikkonen into a tire barrier, damaging the car.

Raikkonen, a native of Finland and resident of Switzerland, ran in the top 10 during parts of the first two stages. He drove for Trackhouse Racing as part of its Project91 program designed to bring internationally known