KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — There were times over the past year or so that Kyle Larson probably wondered whether he'd ever win a race again, let alone defend his NASCAR Cup Series title. He went 51 races without reaching victory lane, even though he always felt as though he was close.
Now, Larson has won two of the last three after his dominant victory at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.
And he's in the pole position for another championship.
After sweeping each of the first two stages, breaking his own track record by leading 235 laps in the race, and passing Chase Briscoe for the lead with seven remaining and holding it the rest of the way, Larson has a 26-point cushion over Denny Hamlin heading to next weekend's race at Las Vegas, a comfortable margin with only six races remaining in the playoffs.
“I said it kind of in Gateway: I felt like we were close,” Larson said of his drought-ending win outside St. Louis. "I didn't feel like it was 51 races and then, yeah, just it seems like we were just building and ready to kind of capitalize if we got a moment like this, where our car and everything kind of came together.
“So just proud of everybody for working so hard for so long now, and then proud of just the execution that they've put in here.”
Things couldn't have gone much better for Larson
The No. 5 team couldn't have executed a whole lot better on Sunday.
After practice and qualifying was washed out the previous day, Larson began on the outside of the front row, thanks to metrics that combined his second-place finish the previous week at Bristol with ownership points. Larson immediately went to the front when the green flag was dropped and, other than during pit-stop cycles, pretty much spent the day there.
Briscoe did catch him with 30 laps to go, and even got around Larson, but his car began to get so loose that he kept brushing against the wall. That gave Larson the opening he needed to get back around the No. 19 car and drive off to victory.
He wound up with the maximum of 76 points on the day, an almost mythic number in the revamped version of the Chase playoffs, but one that became a reality when Larson took the checkered flag for a record-tying fourth time at Kansas Speedway.
“Nobody wants to go through the struggle,” said Larson's crew chief, Cliff Daniels, "but the struggle can be so constructive, if you let it be, if you lean in the right ways. We have a great company with a lot of great people on the shop floor, that are in teams, engine shop, car shop, leadership — everybody having the check of, ‘OK, we’re not where we need to be, so let’s not play the blame game. Let’s look within, and how do we elevate our process, our setups, just digging into all the things you have to do?’
“The sport goes in cycles,” Daniels continued. “Somebody told me a long time ago, when the sport goes in cycles, when you’re on top, you’ve got to take the best of it, and when you’re not, you’ve got to be patient and be ready when it is your turn.”
Patience and confidence pay off for Larson
That patience — and confidence — has paid off at the perfect time.
Larson heads to Las Vegas having won there three times in the Cup Series, second only to Joey Logano among active drivers, while his Hendrick Motorsports team has reached victory lane nine times, more than any other organization.
“I feel like we’ve shown a decent amount of patience. At the same time, we’ve been patient, just from the emotional level of not letting the struggle keep us down,” Daniels said. “Honestly, my opinion, I still don’t think as a company we’ve peaked yet. I don’t think as a team we’ve peaked yet. There’s still a lot of racing left and a lot of work to do. Am I encouraged about where we sit? Of course, but I would be naive to think that this is just going to carry all the way for the rest of the year.”
Larson likewise understands the playoffs aren't over. He was 49 points behind Hamlin after the opening race at Darlington, but he was able to trim 40 away with his win at St. Louis, took the lead by a point at Bristol and now has a 26-point advantage after Kansas.
That's a 75-point swing in just three races, underscoring just how quickly things can change.
“There's still six races, and I only have a 26-point lead on Denny. That could be swallowed up in a hurry,” Larson said. "Denny could have a max-point day and I could blow an engine, like Noah (Gragson) did in the first stage, and I'm down 70-some points right there.
“I'm just really trying to do the best job I can, and yeah, just show up to the racetrack and kind of block out all that stuff.”
