Are Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet peaking at the right time?
The two-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion dominated Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in HISTORIC fashion – beating his own record for the most laps led at the mile-and-a-half racetrack with 235. But there was a 20-lap stint during the final run, where the Hendrick driver looked doomed to finish second.
After being virtually untouchable for much of the event’s first 225 laps, Chase Briscoe suddenly popped into the picture with a fast No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, tracking down the Elk Grove, California-native and making the pass for the lead with 29 laps remaining.
Larson, now a 34-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winner and two-time series champion, took the time to reground and gain his composure, and went back to work, so that when Briscoe faltered later in the run, the No. 5 was there to capitalize, getting back around the No. 19 with seven laps to go, to make the final pass for the lead.
Briscoe continued to fade over the final 10 laps of the race and slid to fourth, while Larson (despite being chased down dramatically) managed to go to Victory Lane for the second time this season, beating his competition to the line by 0.565 seconds.
It’s the first perfect 76-point day in NASCAR Cup Series history, after Larson won both stages and the race, while also turning the fastest lap (a 30.076 on Lap 2). With the victory, Larson leaves Kansas with a 26-point advantage over Denny Hamlin in the standings.
“I really thought when Chase got by, he was just going to stretch out, but I got some lines going where I could settle in and try to take care of my tires. I don’t know. I think it’s just easier to be the hunter rather than the hunted,” Larson said. “I think a lot of the same, like, with me out front, I’m just defending and trying to guess on what lines are fast. When he got in front of me, I could see he started getting really loose.
Austin Cindric had a stellar afternoon in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse, finishing in the runner-up spot, and had the race been a couple of laps longer, we may be talking about a different outcome. It’s the first top-five for Cindric on a mile-and-a-half.
Denny Hamlin returned to form at Kansas, driving into third-place in the final couple of laps, getting around teammate Chase Briscoe, who finished fourth. Ryan Blaney, who pitted a couple of laps later than the leaders, finished in fifth after a tough couple of weekends at Gateway and Bristol.
Christopher Bell finished in sixth, with William Byron seventh, Chase Elliott eighth, Bubba Wallace ninth, and Ryan Preece completing the top-10 for RFK Racing. Tyler Reddick, who ran outside the top-30 for a large portion of the race’s first stage, somehow, recovered to finish 11th.
Other drivers in the Chase that finished outside the top-10 included Daniel Suarez (14th), Ty Gibbs (17th), Joey Logano, who dropped to 20th during the final run of the race after having a tire go down. Chris Buescher finished 23rd, and Carson Hocevar finished 33rd – after being involved in a mid-race wreck.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the West Coast to compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend. Coverage of the event will take place on Sunday, October 4 at 5:30 PM ET on USA Sports.
