Larson Continues Dominance with Kansas Victory

Kyle Larson won the Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his ninth victory of the season and his third in a row.

Larson continued his dominance on the Cup Series field on Sunday, and led a race-high 130 laps after starting from the pole.

Larson had to hold off his teammates over the final stage, with Chase Elliott and William Byron threatening for the lead throughout the last half of the race.

Larson said he thought Byron and Elliott had faster cars, but that he was able to take advantage of close racing on the final restart to get to a lead no one was able to overcome.

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

“Had a couple good restarts there and it kind of worked out for me,” Larson said.  “[Kevin Harvick] got to [Elliott’s] inside at the flag stand and kind of choked that lane up and got me clear to the lead.”

The victory comes on the 17th anniversary of a plane crash that took the lives of 10 Hendrick Motorsports team members and family members, including Rick Hendrick’s son.

Larson said it’s special to get a victory on the anniversary of the accident in a paint scheme reminiscent of Ricky Hendrick.

“I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda [Hendrick],” Larson said.  “I didn’t ever get to meet Ricky or any of the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race.”

Elliott had a fast car in the closing laps, and began to cut into Larson’s lead until he made contact with the wall.

Elliott had to settle for second, and said the damage to his car slowed him down.

“I didn’t really have a choice; once I hit it, it hurt it pretty bad,” Elliott said.  “Feel like we had something for Kyle there, just got the wall there off of two.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kevin Harvick

4. Kurt Busch

5. Denny Hamlin

6. William Byron

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Christopher Bell

9. Joey Logano

10. Austin Dillon

11. Alex Bowman

12. Chris Buescher

13. Ross Chastain

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Daniel Suarez

16. Michael McDowell

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Cole Custer

19. Chase Briscoe

20. Parker Kligerman

21. Ryan Preece

22. Tyler Reddick

23. Matt DiBenedetto

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25. Corey LaJoie

26. Aric Almirola

27. Ryan Newman

28. Kyle Busch

29. Erik Jones

30. BJ McLeod

31. Cody Ware

32. Joey Gase

33. Josh Bilicki

34. David Starr

35. Quin Houff

36. Ryan Ellis

37. Ryan Blaney

38. Anthony Alfredo

39. Justin Haley

40. Chad Finchum

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Larson Wins Amid Playoff Drama at the Roval

Kyle Larson won the Bank of America Roval 400 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in a wild Playoff cutoff race on Sunday afternoon.

Larson had to overcome a battery and alternator issue early in the race, and it seemed like he may even miss the cutoff for the next round of the Playoffs.  After getting the issues fixed, Larson was able to work his way back up through the field and he was at the front late in the race.

On the final restart, Larson was able to get around Denny Hamlin to get to the lead, and held off Tyler Reddick and William Byron over the final run to pick up his seventh victory of the season.

Larson said he was surprised to be standing in victory lane following his early battery issues that forced the team to go under the hood and replace the alternator belt.

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

“It wasn’t looking too good, thankfully everybody on our 5 car did a great job of staying calm,” Larson said.  “I knew I was going to have some sketchy moments; just had to pick my way through traffic and stay calm.”

Byron came into the race in a must-win situation, and he was almost able to pull off the upset. 

After racing hard with Larson and Reddick over the final run, he spun out on the final lap, which relegated him to an 11th-place finish and knocked him out of the Playoffs.

Byron said he was just pushing too hard at the end with everything on the line.

“Everything was looking like it was definitely going to be a good day…looking like we were going to have a shot to win,” Byron said.  “I was just too mad there at the end and made a mistake.”

The Playoff cutoff line was chaotic halfway through the race after a handful of drivers had problems early in the race. 

Kevin Harvick got into Chase Elliott and sent him in the wall, heavily damaging the rear of Elliott’s car. The contact seemed to be payback for an incident last month at Bristol, when Elliott held up Harvick and cost Harvick a victory.

Elliott was able to recover from the incident and finished the race without a rear-bumper cover.  Headed into Turn 1, Harvick locked up his tires with Elliott behind him.  Harvick slammed into the wall, ending his Playoff hopes.

Harvick said the incident was a lesson that Elliott needed to learn.

“I felt like I needed to go get a couple spots back that I lost and I got the left-front locked up and couldn’t get it to turn,” Harvick said.  “Sometimes real life teaches you good lessons.”

Elliott said he isn’t worried about more retaliation from Harvick with four races remaining in the season.

“For us, we’re just eyes forward and just excited to be moving on,” Elliott said.  “[Harvick’s] certainly not changing…just want to wish them a merry offseason and a happy Christmas.”

Byron, Harvick, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell were the four drivers eliminated following this round of the Playoffs.  The remaining eight drivers will begin to fight for a spot in the Final Four next Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Tyler Reddick

3. Chris Buescher

4. Kyle Busch

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. Joey Logano

8. Christopher Bell

9. Ryan Blaney

10. Alex Bowman

11. William Byron

12. Chase Elliott

13. Daniel Suarez

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Austin Dillon

16. Michael McDowell

17. Erik Jones

18. Cole Custer

19. Ryan Preece

20. Brad Keselowski

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

22. Chase Briscoe

23. Ross Chastain

24. Aric Almirola

25. Kurt Busch

26. Anthony Alfredo

27. Joey Hand

28. Josh Bilicki

29. Martin Truex Jr.

30. Quin Houff

31. Scott Heckert

32. Timmy Hill

33. Kevin Harvick

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Corey LaJoie

36. Cody Ware

37. Justin Haley

38. AJ Allmendinger

39. Ryan Newman

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Hamlin Holds off Elliott at Las Vegas

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday night to lock himself into the next round of the Playoffs.

Hamlin was strong throughout the race and ran up front for most of the night.  After a different strategy call by the Hendrick Motorsports drivers towards the end of stage 2, Hamlin was able to take command and pick up his second win of the season.

Hamlin said he was glad to get to victory lane in Las Vegas after running well there the last few races at the track.

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

“It feels so good to win at Vegas,” Hamlin said.  “Last couple times I’ve been so close and just didn’t have the right breaks.”

The victory locked Hamlin into the third round of the Playoffs, which will allow him to avoid the stress of fighting for a Playoff spot at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval.

Hamlin said he is ready to fight for victories the next two weeks without the added stress of racing for his Playoff future.

“So happy I don’t have to worry about the next two weeks,” Hamlin said.  “I’m going to work just as hard each and every week to win.”

Chase Elliott was the lone Hendrick driver who was able to overcome the pit strategy call.  He was able to run Hamlin down over the final green flag run, but he ran out of time and was never able to challenge Hamlin for the lead.

Elliott said the race played out more in his favor than for his teammates.

“Circumstances went our way,” Elliott said.  “We were able to get back on the lead lap when that cycle of stops got weird there in the middle.  We got back on the lead and didn’t need to wave or get the lucky dog.”

“We were really close, just not close enough; Denny did a good job controlling the gap to me.  Excited for the next two, it’s going to be wild.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kyle Busch

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Tyler Reddick

7. Brad Keselowski

8. Kurt Busch

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Kyle Larson

11. Joey Logano

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Austin Dillon

14. Chase Briscoe

15. Daniel Suarez

16. Bubba Wallace

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. William Byron

19. Aric Almirola

20. Ryan Newman

21. Michael McDowell

22. Alex Bowman

23. Ross Chastain

24. Christopher Bell

25. Chris Buescher

26. Erik Jones

27. Anthony Alfredo

28. Ryan Preece

29. Cole Custer

30. Corey LaJoie

31. Cody Ware

32. Justin Haley

33. BJ McLeod

34. Quin Houff

35. Garrett Smithley

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Joey Gase

38. JJ Yeley

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Larson Wins, Elliott and Harvick Clash in Playoff Cutoff at Bristol

Kyle Larson won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

Larson had a strong car throughout the race, but lost the lead on a late restart to his teammate Chase Elliott.  Larson hung behind in third place while Elliott and Kevin Harvick fought for the lead over the final 50 laps.

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Harvick and Elliott made slight contact while they navigated lapped traffic, and the contact cut down the left-rear tire on Elliott’s Chevrolet.  After he pitted, Elliott stayed ahead of Harvick in the preferred line which allowed Larson to take the lead and get to victory lane.

Larson said he was able to get around Harvick after he used up his tires trying to get around Elliott.

“Harvick had to move around and use his tires up,” Larson said. “I got a big run and decided to pull the trigger and slide him and squeeze him a little bit.”

Following the race, Harvick and Elliott made contact coming to pit road and then the two exchanged words.

Harvick said he just tried to race Elliott hard for the lead and was angry with how Elliott decided to handle the situation.

“I just told him…it was kind a chicken-shit move that he did that at the end,” Harvick said.  “We’re racing for the freaking win at Bristol, we’re three-wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum.”

“I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard.  Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the lead.”

Elliott said he felt Harvick ran him up the track to force the contact, and Elliott was just trying to defend himself.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“It’s something he does all the time,” Elliott said.  “He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks.  At some point you’ve got to draw the line.”

“I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it, I’m going to stand up for myself and my team.  I just ran my line, and happy for Kyle; happy for Team Hendrick, wish I could have got our Hooters Chevrolet into victory lane.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Kevin Harvick

3. William Byron

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Alex Bowman

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Erik Jones

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Joey Logano

12. Tyler Reddick

13. Chase Briscoe

14. Ross Chastain

15. Austin Dillon

16. Bubba Wallace

17. Ryan Preece

18. Aric Almirola

19. Kurt Busch

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Kyle Busch

22. Daniel Suarez

23. Chris Buescher

24. Michael McDowell

25. Chase Elliott

26. Corey LaJoie

27. JJ Yeley

28. Cole Custer

29. Christopher Bell

30. Garrett Smithley

31. Josh Bilicki

32. David Starr

33. James Davison

34. Quin Houff

35. Anthony Alfredo

36. Justin Haley

37. BJ McLeod

38. Ryan Newman

Logan Riely/Getty Images

Larson Holds off Elliott at Watkins Glen

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Larson won the Go Bowling at the Glen from Watkins Glen International on Sunday afternoon to pick up his fifth victory of the season.

In the first race out of NASCAR’s Olympic break, Larson ran up front and challenged for the lead most of the day.  Larson was able to get around Martin Truex Jr. for the lead under the final round of pit stops, and he pulled out to a lead that his teammate Chase Elliott could not overcome.

Larson said his team put a good car together for the weekend.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“Another amazing car,” Larson said.  “I could tell from about lap three after I stopped making a bunch of mistakes that we were going to have a car that could win today.”

With Elliott closing in on Larson in the closing laps, Larson ran into a pack of slower cars that allowed Elliott to cut seconds off the lead.

Larson said he was sure Elliott would catch him while stuck in traffic.

“Chase was already chasing me pretty quick, even with me being on open track,” Larson said.  “When I caught those four cars…thought I’d look in my mirror and the 9 would be right on me.  Think we had a comfortable enough gap to where I could make a mistake like that.”

Elliott was forced to start at the back of the field because of a pre-race penalty, but he was able to race his way up to second place. 

NASCAR’s winningest-active road course racer drove his way through the field, but a late mistake cost him what could have been his seventh-career road course victory.

Elliott made an unscheduled stop after flat-spotting his tires, and it was too much to overcome in such a short race.

Elliott said he was proud of his team’s effort throughout the day.

“I made too many mistakes to get the win, unfortunately,” Elliott said.  “Super proud of our team, kind of an uphill battle all day.  Everybody was super prepared coming into today, and our NAPA team just did a good job of fighting.”

“Try to clean some things up and make less mistakes next time, maybe it’ll work out.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Kyle Busch

5. Denny Hamlin

6. William Byron

7. Christopher Bell

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Chase Briscoe

10. Tyler Reddick

11. Matt DiBenedetto

12. Ross Chastain

13. Kurt Busch

14. Ryan Blaney

15. Austin Dillon

16. Aric Almirola

17. Chris Buescher

18. Cole Custer

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Alex Bowman

21. Michael McDowell

22. Joey Logano

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Corey LaJoie

25. Ryan Newman

26. Anthony Alfredo

27. Erik Jones

28. Ryan Preece

29. Justin Haley

30. Kyle Tilley

31. Daniel Suarez

32. Quin Houff

33. Josh Bilicki

34. RC Enerson

35. Brad Keselowski

36. Garrett Smithley

37. James Davison

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Elliott Wins at Road America, Continues Road Course Success

Chase Elliott won the Jockey Made in America 250 from Road America on Sunday afternoon to pick up his second win of the season.

Elliott once again showed his strong road course racing abilities as he started in the back of the pack and drove all the way to the front. 

After a late caution in Sunday’s morning qualifying session, Elliott was unable to get a complete lap in and had to start 32nd.

Throughout the difficult race, Elliott said tire conservation on a hot day was a key to getting to the front.

Logan Riely/Getty Images

“Really proud of our team for overcoming some adversity early and having to start in the back,” Elliott said.  “It was a hot day. I think conserving your tire was really a little bit of a thing today, which to be honest we don’t have a lot of anymore.”

Elliott was dominant on Sunday, and led a race-high 24 laps on his way to his seventh career road course victory.

Elliott said he found his rhythm halfway through the race at a track that hasn’t been on the Cup Series schedule in over 60 years.

“I just never felt like I got in a real good rhythm at all yesterday,” Elliott said.  “About halfway through the race I started finding some of that rhythm and was able to put it together.  Finally felt like I was able to piece most of it together.”

Christopher Bell finished second on Sunday, and he showed that his win at the Daytona Road Course early in the season was not a fluke.

Bell said he believed he could have gotten to Elliott if not for a penalty earlier in the race.

“I kind of buried ourselves there when I got a pit road penalty,” Bell said.  “I feel like we’re getting back on track. There’s not reason we can’t be running up front every week.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Christopher Bell

3. Kyle Busch

4. Kurt Busch

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Chase Briscoe

7. Ross Chastain

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Austin Dillon

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Aric Almirola

15. Joey Logano

16. Kyle Larson

17. Cole Custer

18. Chris Buescher

19. Erik Jones

20. Ryan Blaney

21. Corey LaJoie

22. Alex Bowman

23. Josh Bilicki

24. Bubba Wallace

25. Justin Haley

26. Ty Dillon

27. Kevin Harvick

28. James Davison

29. AJ Allmendinger

30. Michael McDowell

31. Cody Ware

32. Ryan Newman

33. William Byron

34. Quin Houff

35. Kyle Tilley

36. Daniel Suarez

37. Anthony Alfredo

38. Austin Cindric

39. Ryan Eversley

40. Ryan Preece

Logan Riely/Getty Images

Larson Stays Hot, Wins at Sonoma

Kyle Larson won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his second-consecutive victory.

Larson started on the pole on Sunday, and led a race-high 57 laps on his way to victory.

Larson had to hold off his teammate Chase Elliott in the closing laps.  Elliott, who has the most wins on road course among active drivers, tried to find a way around Larson over the final three restarts.

Larson said he didn’t like having to give Elliott so many chances over the final batch of restarts.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

“I felt like I did a good job the one before, and stretched it out a little bit,” Larson said.  “I didn’t want to give him another try at it, but he kept the pressure on.”

Larson was born in Southern California, and said it was special to pick up a victory at his home track.

“This will always be home to me, even if I live way out on the East Coast,” Larson said.  “To get back-to-back wins in the Cup Series is something I’ve always dreamt of doing, and to get it done feels great.”

Elliott said he didn’t know what else he could have done to get past his teammate and get to victory lane.

“I feel like we were a lot better there at the end than we were at the beginning,” Elliott said.  “I wish we could have gotten another spot but we’ll try again.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Joey Logano

5. Kyle Busch

6. Kurt Busch

7. Ross Chastain

8. Denny Hamlin

9. Alex Bowman

10. Ryan Blaney

11. Erik Jones

12. Daniel Suarez

13. Austin Dillon

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Brad Keselowski

16. Chris Buescher

17. Chase Briscoe

18. Corey LaJoie

19. Tyler Reddick

20. Cole Custer

21. Ryan Preece

22. Kevin Harvick

23. Matt DiBenedetto

24. Christopher Bell

25. James Davison

26. Scott Heckert

27. Aric Almirola

28. Michael McDowell

29. Josh Bilicki

30. Ben Rhodes

31. Anthony Alfredo

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Ryan Newman

34. Cody Ware

35. William Byron

36. Quin Houff

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Larson Dominates in Charlotte, Wins Coca-Cola 600

Kyle Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night to pick up his second win of the season.

Larson continued his strong season with a dominant effort in NASCAR’s longest race.  Larson led 327 laps after starting on the pole, and was able to run at the front of the field for most of the race.

Even though he dominated the race, Larson said he had to fight his teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron for the victory throughout the night.

“It was not easy, I felt like I had to fight off William and Chase a lot,” Larson said.  “It kind of worked out that last run…[Erik Jones] had to pit and pulled out in front of me.  I just towed with him for awhile and stretched my lead out.”

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

The victory was the 269th victory for Hendrick Motorsports, which broke a tie with Petty Enterprises for the most victories in Cup Series history.

Larson said it was an honor to be the driver to get the record-breaking win for HMS.

“Feels great to be the guy to help Mr. H break that record finally,” Larson said.  “Very lucky that Mr. H was able to put together a deal for me; I’m living a dream for sure.”

Elliott finished second to his teammate on Sunday, and said Larson was the class of the organization and the field.

“He did a good job tonight and ran a great race,” Elliott said.  “Made no mistakes and the best car won.  They’ve been kicking ass since February, so they deserve to win and rightfully so.”

“Proud of HMS; feel like everybody’s just pulling in the same direction and it’s really showing.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kyle Busch

4. William Byron

5. Alex Bowman

6. Austin Dillon

7. Denny Hamlin

8. Chris Buescher

9. Tyler Reddick

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Ryan Blaney

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Daniel Suarez

16. Erik Jones

17. Joey Logano

18. Matt DiBenedetto

19. Corey LaJoie

20. Michael McDowell

21. Cole Custer

22. Aric Almirola

23. Chase Briscoe

24. Christopher Bell

25. Anthony Alfredo

26. Ryan Preece

27. Ryan Newman

28. Justin Haley

29. Martin Truex Jr.

30. Cody Ware

31. BJ McLeod

32. Quin Houff

33. James Davison

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Josh Bilicki

36. David Starr

37. Ross Chastain

38. Kurt Busch

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Elliott Wins Wet Inaugural Race at COTA

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the Inaugural EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix from the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday afternoon after weather ended the race with 14 laps remaining.

Elliott, winningest active driver on road courses, ran up front for most of the race before he took the lead under the final pit cycle.

Elliott won on the first new track added to the schedule since 2011, with the world-class facility of Circuit of the Americas normally hosting Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the drivers in Formula 1.

The weather was the story of the day, as the Cup Series ran under rainfall for the very first time.  Rain tires allowed drivers to run on the wet racetrack, but standing water created visibility issues in the second stage. 

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace and Cole Custer were among those involved in two scary accidents in the second stage, which caused NASCAR to throw the red flag to help push water off the track.

The race was able to continue as the rainfall slowed, but with the laps winding down the heavy rain returned.

Elliott said standing water on the backstretch was causing problems over the final laps.

“There were some areas on track that were getting treacherous,” Elliott said.  “The back straightaway was puddling up and you started to hydroplane and do some weird stuff.  My only option was to…just send it through those spots and hope for the best.”

Elliott’s victory was also historic.  The win was the 800^th for Chevrolet in the Cup Series, and it was also the 268^th victory for Hendrick Motorsports, tying them with Petty Enterprises for the most in Cup Series history.

Elliott said his crew chief made the right call with the team short on fuel.

“I just kept pushing myself harder and harder,” Elliott said.  “We’ve had kind of an up-and-down year.  Not the ideal win, but we’ll definitely take it and move on down the road.”

Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson finished second for the second week in a row.

Larson said he was hoping the race would resume with his teammate short on fuel.

“I wanted to go green the whole way,” Larson said.  “I think Chase was short on fuel; we wanted to keep going so he’d have to pit.”

“Really cool to run up front on a road course and…get my first rain race in.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Kyle Larson

3. Joey Logano

4. Ross Chastain

5. AJ Allmendinger

6. Chase Briscoe

7. Michael McDowell

8. Alex Bowman

9. Tyler Reddick

10. Kyle Busch

11. William Byron

12. Austin Dillon

13. Chris Buescher

14. Denny Hamlin

15. Ryan Preece

16. Erik Jones

17. Ryan Blaney

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Corey LaJoie

21. Ty Dillon

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

23. Matt DiBenedetto

24. Ryan Newman

25. Austin Cindric

26. Aric Almirola

27. Kurt Busch

28. Garrett Smithley

29. James Davison

30. Josh Bilicki

31. Kyle Tilley

32. Cody Ware

33. Daniel Suarez

34. Quin Houff

35. Martin Truex Jr.

36. Cole Custer

37. Kevin Harvick

38. Christopher Bell

39. Bubba Wallace

40. Justin Haley

Chris Graythen/Getty Images