KANSAS CITY, Kan. โ Kyle Larson clinched another impressive victory at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, rounding off a day that left little room for suspense in his repeated triumph at the track for the spring event.
After securing the pole position in his No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson dominated the race, leading 221 of the 267 laps and capturing both stages on his way to a third NASCAR Cup Series win this season. Unlike the nail-biting finish against Chris Buescher the previous year, where Larson snatched victory by a mere 0.001 seconds, this time he maintained a comfortable 0.712-second lead over runner-up Christopher Bell.
โGlad to not win by an inch this time,โ Larson remarked, grinning. โA little safer gap.โ This Kansas triumph adds to his season victories at Homestead and Bristol, showing consistent top-four finishes in the last four Cup Series races. Holding this momentum, Larson now looks forward to testing his skills at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he prepares for โthe Doubleโ on Memorial Day weekendโparticipating in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600.
Reflecting on his performance last year, Larson was in strong contention during the rain-delayed Indy 500 until a pit road speeding penalty dropped him to an 18th-place finish. He then flew to Charlotte for the NASCAR event, only for rain to prevent any laps from being completed.
โItโs a cool win here at Kansas,โ Larson said in victory lane, adding that he now aims for successful races at Indy in the coming weeks.
Despite predominantly leading the hot, sunlit track at Kansas, Larson faced a temporary challenge from Chase Elliott at the start of the final stage. However, an error during Elliottโs pit stop allowed Larson to regain his lead on the restart, comfortably securing the win over the last 50 laps.
Christopher Bell, who already has three wins this season, concluded in the top three for the sixth time. Ryan Blaney came third, marking another strong showing for Team Penske following recent victories by Austin Cindric and Joey Logano.
โI was just trying to get to the end. I know Ryan was coming on really strong there,โ Bell commented, attributing his success to a strong qualifying performance and efficient pit stops. Blaney also reflected on the race, โWe were kind of running those guys down quick. A few more laps, I would have scared the 5 a bit at least.โ
Chase Briscoe took fourth place, while Larsonโs teammate Alex Bowman completed the top five. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski seemed poised for his first top-10 finish this season, advancing from the back of the grid to second place behind Elliott. However, a sudden tire blowout ended his race prematurely, sending him into the wall.
โI mean, it was going to be a great day,โ lamented Keselowski. โI heard a big boom and around it went. Itโs unfortunate.โ
Denny Hamlin, another contender with a strong car, faced persistent clutch problems that complicated his pit stops and eventually led to his downfall after a caution for Keselowskiโs mishap.
โReally fast again,โ Hamlin noted. โJust canโt keep it together right now.โ
The race saw a few other caution flags, with incidents involving Cody Ware, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace during the restarts.
Larsonโs victory not only marked his 32nd career win but also placed him alongside Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch in the exclusive group of active drivers with over 10,000 laps led in their careers. This result also maintained a three-race winning streak for Chevrolet at Kansas, following Ross Chastainโs victory last fall.
Looking ahead, the All-Star Race scheduled for next Sunday at North Wilkesboro introduces changes this year, including an optional promoterโs caution flag that may influence the 250-lap raceโs dynamics.