LAS VEGAS – Kyle Larson made a spectacular mid-race stop, got a lightning-fast final pit stop from his Hendrick Motorsports crew, then held off Christopher Bell at the finish line at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to become the first driver entered in the final of the NASCAR championship.
The 2021 Cup champion clinched the first of four spots in the Nov. 5 title-deciding finale with his victory in Sunday’s opening race of the NASCAR playoff round of 16.
“I’m glad we didn’t have to stress the last two races,” Larson said.
Larson’s fourth win of the season was his most important: Hendrick Motorsports could theoretically spend the next two weeks and focus primarily on preparing for the finale at Phoenix Raceway. Joey Logano won Las Vegas last year and used the two weeks of preparation to win the championship in Phoenix.
There will be no rest for the No. 5 team, however.
“If we just say, ‘Hey, we’re going to sail for the next two weeks,’ then you’re not operating with the advantage that I think you’ll need to win in Phoenix,” the crew chief said. Cliff. Daniels. “There are still two races left to win, and the way I see it now is that we are in a position to play these races to win.”
Larson led 133 laps and beat Bell by 0.082 seconds.
He needed a pretty remarkable stop in the second stage when his Chevrolet squirmed and Larson somehow escaped by driving only the rear corner of the car into the wall. It was a save Daniels thought only Larson could make.
“I just tried to take a deep breath and forget about it as quickly as possible and refocus,” Larson said.
That kept him in contention, and Larson took the lead on pit road when his crew made the quickest stop following a caution with 57 laps remaining. Bell was in control of the race at that point, but Larson was the first to leave pit road.
Bell, who started on pole in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was third after the pit stop. Passing seemed especially difficult on Sunday in Las Vegas, and Bell was sort of stuck following Larson for the rest of the race.
But he raced towards Larson in the final laps, closing the gap each time near the pole. As they closed in on the checkered flag, Bell gave a furious push inside Larson but couldn’t beat him to the line.
“I don’t know what else I could have done,” a dejected Bell said. “I feel like it was my moment. It was my time to qualify for the final four and I didn’t make it. It would have been nice to lock ourselves away.
Larson praised Bell, his longtime sprint car rival, for carrying him cleanly to the finish line.
“I could see it coming in my mirror, for sure,” Larson said of Bell’s close rate. “Luckily, Christopher always runs extremely clean. It could have gotten crazier than when we got to the start/finish line. Thanks to him for running respectfully there.
Las Vegas native Kyle Busch finished third in a Chevrolet. He was followed by Brad Keselowski in a Ford and Ross Chastain in a Chevrolet. All three were eliminated from the playoffs last Sunday in Charlotte.
The next five spots went to playoff drivers as Ryan Blaney finished sixth for Team Penske but was disqualified after the race because his Ford’s left front shock did not reach the specified overall length.
That moved Larson’s teammate William Byron to sixth and he was followed by Tyler Reddick in a Toyota for 23XI Racing, JGR drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Chris Buescher, in a Ford for RFK Racing, was the lowest-placed driver in the playoffs, 10th.
Blaney fell to last place in the race.
A victory in any of the three elimination races in this round automatically earns a place in the championship final. The remaining places are filled based on the points ranking.
Bell, Reddick, Blaney and Buescher are the four drivers below the cut line.
LARSON’S BUSY WEEK
The victory capped a week in which Larson won a sprint car championship and began his preparations for next year’s Indianapolis 500. Larson plans to race both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 next May and completed the rookie orientation program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday.
He is competing in the Indy 500 as part of a joint entry between Hendrick Motorsports and McLaren and under boss Rick Hendrick, Larson completed 72 laps with a fast lap of 217.898 mph.
Before arriving at Indy, Larson won the inaugural High Limit Sprint Car Series championship Tuesday night at Lincoln Park Speedway in Greencastle, Indiana. Larson founded the series with his brother-in-law Brad Sweet, a four-time World of Outlaws Series champion.
“It’s been a memorable week, maybe a little crazier than usual, but my weeks are usually crazy,” Larson said.
TRUEX CONTINUES TO FIGHT
Truex won the regular season title, but had a terrible playoff run and is barely clinging on to a chance at a second Cup title.
His ninth place finish Sunday was his best in seven playoff races. Before Las Vegas, he had finished no higher than 17th in the first six playoff races.
He started the day in bad shape with seven consecutive finishes outside the top 15, his worst streak since 2009, and Truex at first seemed destined for another miserable race.
Truex said he struggled with his Toyota in traffic, and when a strategy of not stopping at the pits at the end of the first stage with the rest of the field backfired, he found himself stuck deep in the peloton.
“It was just a matter of trying to find a way to minimize the damage,” Truex said. “It was an uphill battle, but luckily in the end we were able to have a few better restarts and at least maintain and then progress from there. Overall everything was good.
FOLLOWING
NASCAR heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway next Sunday for the Intermediate Round of 16 race. Larson is the reigning winner of the race.
