Kyle Larson "Falls Short" of Victory, Finishes 2nd at Las Vegas

DECLAN WAYMAN - STAFF WRITER

Kyle Larson stands beside Denny Hamlin at Southern 500 driver intros. Photo Credit: Fisher Giannotti

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The curtain rose on the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a performance from Kyle Larson that showed both speed and strategy, even if it didn’t culminate in a win. Larson led a race-high 129 laps, collected 19 stage points, and ultimately crossed the finish line as runner-up behind Denny Hamlin in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff semifinal round opener.

Though a win would have automatically locked him into the Championship 4, Larson’s showing still delivered a strong points boost, pushing the 2021 champion to a 35-point buffer above the elimination cutline heading into the final two races in the Round of 8 at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway.

From the drop of the green flag, Larson’s car looked untouchable. He quickly moved to the front, leading large portions of the race and setting the pace for the field. Larson’s lap-leading effort was not only the most in the race but also helped him move into 20th on NASCAR’s all-time laps-led list, passing 2004 Cup Series champion and recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch. His car handled smoothly through long green-flag runs, and his crew executed clean pit stops that kept him in contention all afternoon. Despite not winning either of the first two stages, Larson piled up valuable points that strengthened his cushion in the playoff standings.

Larson found himself battling Denny Hamlin for the win in the closing stages in Sin City, as both drivers traded the lead during the closing laps, but Hamlin’s Toyota proved just a bit stronger on the long run. After Larson’s teammate William Byron, who proved to have one of the strongest long run cars of the afternoon, slammed into the back of Ty Dillon, who was attempting to service his No. 10 Chevrolet, it regrouped the field back together. As Larson shot immediately to the front to duel with the now 60-time Cup Series winner, Hamlin’s Toyota proved just a bit stronger on the long run. When the checkered flag flew, Hamlin crossed the line 1.5 seconds ahead of Larson, denying the 2021 champion his fifth win of the season. Still, the Elk Grove, California, product put on one of the most dominant performances of the day throughout the 38-car field.

“We had an awesome day,” Larson said following his second consecutive runner-up finish. I think we were second maybe in the first stage, won the next stage, and second in the race.”

Larson additionally added the challenge he faced going up against Hamlin in the closing moments of the 267-lap shootout, “I thought I had a big enough gap down the backstretch to go to the top, get momentum,” Larson added. “He (Denny Hamlin) did an awesome job. I tried to take his line away in three and four, and he got to my outside. Hats off to them (Joe Gibbs Racing No.11 team).”

To secure his spot in the finale at Phoenix, Larson doesn’t necessarily need a win, but he’ll need to continue performing with the same balance of speed and consistency. Maximizing stage points, staying clear of trouble, and keeping his intermediate-track setups dialed in will be key over the next two weeks. His track record at both Talladega and Martinsville, in which he has already claimed two top 5 finish at both tracks respectively in the spring, suggests he’s more than capable of managing the risks while staying in control of his own destiny to fight for his second Cup Series championship trophy.