CONCORD, N.C. — Five months ago, rain at two tracks nearly 600 miles apart derailed Kyle Larson’s bid to complete both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
He arrived late to the latter and ultimately was unable to turn a single lap at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 2021 Cup Series champion returned to the track determined to put on a show.
“I don’t want to say it’s a chip, but I think the fact that he didn’t get to race here and Indy didn’t turn out too good, that was the extra motivation,” team owner Rick Hendrick said.
Larson raced to his series-leading sixth victory of the season to easily advance to the third round of the playoffs, winning Sunday on Charlotte’s “Roval” — a 2.66-mile hybrid layout that meshes the venue’s road course and its oval, where the annual Coca-Cola 600 is held on Memorial Day weekend. What started as a field of 16 contenders in early September and was trimmed to a dozen after three playoff races is now down to eight drivers after six races — and three of those remaining compete for Hendrick Motorsports, with Larson leading the way.
“I think after some of the comments he made after the Indy-Charlotte experience, he did put a lot of weight on his shoulders, almost feeling like he let his team and fan base down,” said Cliff Daniels, the crew chief of Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet. “I don’t necessarily think that was fair for him to put on his shoulders, but I know that he did. He’s putting in the work, the intensity, and the determination to be as strong as everybody.”
Larson led a race-high 62 laps to win in a runaway, beating longtime rival and fellow title contender Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing to the checkered flag by 1.511 seconds. Bell’s Toyota was one spot ahead of Hendrick’s William Byron, with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric fourth in the best finish for a Ford driver and Hendrick’s Chase Elliott rounding out the top five.
“It was good to have a little bit of a stress-free weekend,” said Larson, who plans to take his family to Mexico for a quick getaway before the third round of the playoffs begin next Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he has won the past two Cup Series races hosted by the track.
He took trips to France and Italy during the regular season and sees no reason to change his busy schedule — he also competes in lower-level series outside of NASCAR during the week — considering the results.
“I think every vacation I’ve taken this year, I think I’ve won the race leading into it,” Larson said. “So I should start taking vacation every week. I shouldn’t have to argue. I shouldn’t have to prove a point. It’s my life, and we perform at a high level, so whatever.”
AP photo by Chuck Burton / Hendrick Motorsports drive Kyle Larson celebrates atop his No. 5 Chevrolet in victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race on the venue’s “Roval” course in Concord, N.C. All four Hendrick drivers advanced to the third round, where they will make up half the field of the eight remaining championship contenders.Larson also cruised to a dominant victory at Bristol Motor Speedway last month in the final race of the first round of the playoffs, and he was the only championship-eligible driver to win in this round. Sunday’s elimination race on the Roval cut the postseason’s 12-driver field again, and the four knocked out were Hendrick’s Alex Bowman — who initially finished 18th Sunday but was later disqualified — Cindric, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe.
Bowman’s DQ was announced hours after the race, with NASCAR saying it was due to his car not meeting minimum weight during inspection. It knocked him out of the playoffs and moved two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano of Team Penske back into title contention.
Hendrick Motorsports released a statement saying it was seeking “to understand the decision” and contemplating “whether to submit an appeal” this week.
Joining the Hendrick trio and Logano for the next three-race round are reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney of Penske — he and Logano are the only Ford drivers left in the field — JGR’s Bell and Denny Hamlin, plus fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick, the regular-season champion who squeezed through for 23XI Racing.
Basketball great Michael Jordan, Hamlin’s business partner in ownership of 23XI Racing, embraced both Hamlin and Reddick on pit lane after they advanced.
Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger was sixth Sunday as he fell short of repeating as the race winner, followed by teammate Shane Van Gisbergen, Logano, Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing and Blaney.
Reddick won the first stage but was involved in a spin with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in the second stage that dropped him to 37th in position and below the cutline. He had to scramble the rest of the race to finish 11th and preserve his spot in the playoffs.
Briscoe was eliminated when he went to the garage with 66 laps remaining with mechanical damage that officially ended SHR’s shot at a last championship in its current configuration. The team is scaling back from four cars to one next year without Tony Stewart as part of the ownership group led by Gene Haas — it will be known as Haas Factory Racing next season — and Briscoe will drive for JGR in 2025.
“I wish we were racing for a championship still. It stings,” Briscoe said. “Not even really for myself, just all the employees at Stewart-Haas. They were all kind of living through the 14 car, and the environment we have had these last few weeks has been really exciting to be a part of.
“I hate that it is coming to an end. I know what that means for Stewart-Haas not to be racing for a championship anymore. That was keeping a lot of people, honestly, in the building.”