Kyle Larson made a special statement Saturday night by winning the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. But that doesn’t mean Larson doesn’t still have some big hurdles to overcome if he’s going for his second NASCAR Cup Series championship. Larson’s victory in the 16-round preliminary round was a study in superiority. Larson dominated the race from the moment he took the lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate and pole winner Alex Bowman on lap 33.
When he finally crossed the finish line, the driver of the Chevrolet No. 5 led 462 laps, the most laps by a Hendrick driver in a single race, and passed Chase Elliott for second. The vertical arena lap of 0.533 miles was extended to 7.088 seconds, almost in half. Crew no. 5 in the pits had exceptional results from start to finish, putting Larson back in the lead at each stop. Larson advanced all three of his teammates (Elliott, Bowman and William Byron) to the round of 16 as Hendrick’s power seemed to kick in at the right time. To make matters worse, Larson won the first two stages and races, adding seven more points to his playoff score. He entered Sunday’s first round of 12 at Kansas Speedway in first place, 39 points ahead of ninth-place Austin Cindric.
His detractors viewed his Bristol victory as a statement, but Larson tried to downplay the magnitude of his victory. “I don’t think a game like tonight sends a message,” Larson said after the upset win. “We dominated a lot of the competition. I led the most laps in the most races. I think the teams know we can do it every weekend. “No, it’s fun to do. But there are a lot of other great teams out there too. No, I don’t think a show like tonight’s show would make us absolutely love each other. It’s just difficult. In the playoffs, something changes every week. “We have to continue to bring fast race cars and perform like we did tonight and hopefully we will have a lot of good races.”
Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be held at the same track where Larson has excelled. He has finished in the top eight in the last six races at Kansas Speedway, posting two wins and two second-place finishes. The victory at the 1.5-mile track helped Larson capture the 2021 series championship in his first season at Hendrick. Outside of Kansas, however, there are the obstacles mentioned above. It’s challenge with a capital “T” and it stands for Talladega. In 19 career starts, Larson has one top-5 finish and three top-10 finishes. He averaged 21.75 in his last four starts at Talladega.
Talladega, the middle 12-lap race, threatens the fate of drivers who have never won a superfast race. But Larson defied conventional wisdom, claiming that racing at Charlotte Roval made him nervous. “I’ve had a lot of stressful moments in my playoff career,” Larson said, recalling his first race at the track in 2018. He bounced debris over the outside wall and passed Jeffrey Earnhardt for the finish. One point was needed to advance to the round of 16. “Hopefully we’ll be in a better position and less stressed because it’s very stressful when we get there. “It’s a lot more stressful than Talladega.”That could happen, but if Larson has a typical Talladega, he could need some or all of that 39-point lead early in the round.
