NASCAR at California 2017 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

A series of cautions in the final laps led to a wild finish at the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California. When the smoke cleared and overtime concluded, however, it was Kyle Larson who managed to cross the finish line first.

Larson enjoyed a well-earned celebration after his big win, per Fox Sports: NASCAR:

You can see the full results below:

Place	Driver	Points	Playoff Points
1	Kyle Larson	59	6
2	Brad Keselowski	36	5
3	Clint Bowyer	46	0
4	Martin Truex Jr.	52	8
5	Joey Logano	39	1
6	Jamie McMurray	43	0
7	Daniel Suarez	30	0
8	Kyle Busch	30	1
9	Ryan Blaney	30	0
10	Chase Elliott	43	1
11	Austin Dillon	26	0
12	Erik Jones	34	0
13	Kevin Harvick	24	3
14	Denny Hamlin	26	0
15	Ryan Newman	22	5
16	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	21	0
17	AJ Allmendinger	20	0
18	Ty Dillon	19	0
19	Aric Almirola	18	0
20	Kasey Kahne	17	0
21	Jimmie Johnson	16	0
22	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	15	0
23	Trevor Bayne	14	0
24	Kurt Busch	13	5
25	Chris Buescher	12	0
26	Danica Patrick	11	0
27	Landon Cassill	10	0
28	Paul Menard	9	0
29	Matt DiBenedetto	8	0
30	Corey LaJoie	7	0
31	David Ragan	6	0
32	Cole Whitt	5	0
33	Michael McDowell	4	0
34	Reed Sorenson	3	0
35	Timmy Hill	0	0
36	Matt Kenseth	1	0
37	Gray Gaulding	1	0
38	Derrike Cope	1	0
39	Jeffrey Earnhardt	1	0

The multiple cautions set up an interesting conundrum for drivers in the final laps of the race: Take a pit stop or stay out?

Larson chose to take a pit stop and get fresh tires, a decision that was ultimately justified. When he pitted in the seventh lap, he restarted in fourth place. Two laps later, he had taken first place ahead of three drivers who chose against pitting. Almost immediately after he took the lead, however, a caution forced him to hold the lead for yet another restart, per NASCAR:

He managed to do just that, earning his first win of the season and second of his career. Fox Sports shared the race's final moments:

After finishing in second place three races in a row, the points leader coming into the day finally got his win. It's been a good run for Larson, as NASCAR writer Jeff Gluck noted:

Here's a look at the updated standings:

Rank	Driver	Points
1	Kyle Larson	243
2	Chase Elliott	214
3	Martin Truex Jr	205
4	Brad Keselowski	179
5	Joey Logano	174
6	Jamie McMurray	162
7	Ryan Blaney	157
8	Clint Bowyer	143
9	Kevin Harvick	137
10	Kyle Busch	136
11	Ryan Newman	123
12	Denny Hamlin	123
13	Kasey Kahne	122
14	Kurt Busch	118
15	Erik Jones	116
16	Trevor Bayne	114
17	Jimmie Johnson	109
18	Aric Almirola	108
19	Daniel Suarez	102
20	Austin Dillon	92
21	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	91
22	Paul Menard	87
23	Ty Dillon	87
24	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	86
25	Matt Kenseth	73
26	Michael McDowell	66
27	Landon Cassill	65
28	Matt DiBenedetto	64
29	Danica Patrick	63
30	AJ Allmendinger	59
31	Cole Whitt	55
32	Chris Buescher	51
33	David Ragan	43
34	Michael Waltrip	29
35	Corey LaJoie	25
36	Jeffrey Earnhardt	22
37	Reed Sorenson	22
38	Derrike Cope	8
39	Gray Gaulding	6
40	D.J. Kennington	1
41	Cody Ware	1
42	Brendan Gaughan	0
43	Elliott Sadler	0
44	Joey Gase	0
45	Timmy Hill	0

Larson, the pole-sitter for the race, also won the first stage. Martin Truex Jr. took the second stage, and the two men battled for most of the afternoon.

An early crash, meanwhile, seemed to set the stage for the wild finish after Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick all collided. It was a testament to Keselowski that he overcame such a tough start to ultimately finish second. And while the race was largely clean after that, four cautions in the final 20 laps set the stage for Larson's win.

Up next is the STP 500 at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Post-Race Reaction

Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Larson is certainly enjoying himself these days.

"Lots of fun to be Kyle Larson right now," he told Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. "Our race cars are really fast in Xfinity and Cup, so it's a blast to show up to the race track every week."

He added: "I feel like I have a shot to win every time I go to the race track. That's always a lot of fun. That's something I've always hoped for, to get to a point like that in my NASCAR career. In the past, I had race tracks where I knew I would be good, but right now, we're going to some tracks that aren't good for me and running up front. It's a lot of fun to have that confidence."

Keselowski, who had an excellent afternoon himself, praised Larson after the race.

"He's on a really nice roll, and it takes everything," he said, per the AP. "This is a sport of speed, execution and luck, and when you're on a roll like that, you've got all three on your side."

Team owner Chip Ganassi added: "I think he's got a long way to go. I have no idea what he's capable of. Your guess is as good as mine."

Based on his recent performances, Larson would appear to be capable of quite a bit.