As George Strait once sang, the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. And in his first season driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson's star has never been bigger or brighter.
Kyle Larson continued his hot streak on Sunday night's All-Star night at Texas Motor Speedway, taking the lead from Chase Elliott in the final round and then holding off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski to win the NASCAR All-Star Race.
This is Larson's second-straight All-Star Race start that he has won, taking the checkered flag the last time he competed in it in 2019. Although the All-Star Race is a non-points race, Larson's victory marks the third week in a row that he has won a Cup Series event.
Larson emerged on top through a 100 lap race that featured multiple shufflings of the running order through inversions, which flipped the running order throughout the course of six rounds of racing. Hendrick Motorsports cars once again proved to be the class of the field, with Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott all finishing rounds out front.
"That second run there, we were really bad. And I was like 'Man, we're in trouble.' I went backwards that round - I was like 'We've got an uphill battle,'" Larson told Fox Sports. "Did not imagine seeing myself winning this race today, but [crew chief Cliff Daniels] and everybody worked so hard on this thing. Made some good adjustments throughout those first, second and third rounds. Got us in position."
The decisive moment in the race came on the final restart, when Larson cut to the outside of Chase Elliott as his teammate raced Ryan Blaney for the lead. Despite Larson losing the lead after Keselowski made a daring three-wide pass on both Larson and Elliott, Larson was able to stay at Keselowski's right rear quarter panel to take the lead back and then hold it for the rest of the night.
"That last restart worked out exactly how I needed it to," Larson said. "I wanted Chase to not get a good run down the back. Thankfully I think the 12 got to his inside, and I just shoved him down the back, and he probably thought I was gonna just follow him. And I was like, 'There's got to be enough grip above where we've been running for one corner.'
"It was a little slick up there, but I was able to get it and hold him off from there. Can't believe it."
Larson is now the eighth driver in history to have won the All-Star Race multiple times, joining Jimmie Johnson (2003, 2006, 2012, 2013), Dale Earnhardt (1987, 1990, 1993), Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 2001), Davey Allison (1991, 1992), Terry Labonte (1988, 1989), Mark Martin (1998, 2005), and Kevin Harvick (2007, 2018).
With All-Star Week now complete, the NASCAR Cup Series season will resume next week at Nashville Superspeedway, which will be NASCAR's first at the track since 2011 and the Cup Series' first race in the Nashville area since 1982.
Kyle Larson holds off Brad Keselowski to win his second NASCAR All-Star Race, earning his second All-Star Race win in a row and his third win in the past three weeks (The All-Star Race is a non-points event)
1. Kyle Larson
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Chase Elliott
4. Joey Logano
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Alex Bowman
7. William Byron
8. Aric Almirola
9. Kyle Busch
10. Kurt Busch
White flag for Kyle Larson. Four corners to hold off Brad Keselowski.
2 to go. Larson and Keselowski have left Chase Elliott.
Keselowski is trying to use the bottom groove to gain position on Larson, but he can't get the sort of drive off Larson can get running the middle groove.
Three to go.
Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott have gapped the rest of the field. 5 to go.
Brad Keselowski takes the lead with a THREE WIDE pass of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott off turn four. But Larson comes right back around the outside and takes it back.
Green flag in Round 6. This one's for all the marbles.
Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney lead them to green.
Thanks to their quick pit stop in Round 5, Chase Elliott's pit crew has won the All-Star Race Pit Crew Challenge.
They'll receive a $100,000 bonus, while their driver leads and is in position to win his second All-Star Race in a row.
There will be no inversion for Round 6. Just a straight up 10 lap dash to the finish and a million dollar prize.
The running order is as follows:
1. Chase Elliott
2. William Byron
3. Kyle Larson
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Joey Logano
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Alex Bowman
9. Kurt Busch
10. Aric Almirola
William Byron made a serious run at Chase Elliott, but Elliott was able to keep him at bay and break his momentum.
Elliottt wins Round 5 over Byron, Larson, Blaney, and Keselowski.
