Kyle Larson NASCAR Cup Series Watkins Glen
Getty Images

Turns out a two-week Olympic break was exactly what Hendrick Motorsports needed to get their NASCAR Cup Series team back on track. Kyle Larson ended a (gasp) five-race winless drought with a victory on Sunday at Watkins Glen. Credit HMS and road course ace Chase Elliott for stepping up Larson's ability on this track type. 

"We're kind of spoiled," said crew chief Cliff Daniels, "That we have the best road course team in-house, and that's the 9 team." 

Larson also noted how important the team and the performance of his car are.

"I was always like a seventh-to a 10th-place guy when it came to [road courses]," Larson said. "But now I think that I'm in a great race car, I'm able to run that aggressive pace the whole time, and my car stays with me." 

It's a career-best fifth victory of the year for the championship favorite who pulled into a regular season points tie with Denny Hamlin. Elliott, the reigning Cup champ, finished just behind him, falling short after a pre-race inspection failure forced the No. 9 to start from the rear. 

That also left Elliott without crew chief Alan Gustafson while a mid-race mistake kept him outside the top 30 after stage two. But he still was able to charge to second, coming within three seconds of a third road course win on the year. So much for HMS "struggling" after just one top-5 finish in the two races before Olympic break. 

Behind them, Joe Gibbs Racing remains in silver medal contention, a clear alternative should HMS falter.

Martin Truex Jr., after a topsy-turvy summer, led a race-high 34 laps at the Glen and earned a solid third-place result. Kyle Busch, scorching hot most of the last two months, entered the Dog Days of August finishing fourth and remains doggedly determined to chase down HMS. Even Christopher Bell finds himself in the mix, contact with Larson the only barrier to a third runner-up performance in five races. 

Who's on the outs as the playoff shuffle returns to normalcy?

Firstly, Fords, disappointed after a Cinderella-style upset from Aric Almirola last month in New Hampshire. Team Penske's their best title hope but a 1-2-3 qualifying effort turned into 1, 2, 3 spins (and then some) during the race. A net position differential of -65 isn't what the doctor ordered for a team who hasn't won a race since April at Talladega Superspeedway. Brad Keselowski officially announcing his move to Roush Fenway Racing next season, then spinning out Joey Logano on the racetrack only makes things more awkward. 

It sets up Larson and company back in control, rumors of a NASCAR-forced HMS nose adjustment a distant memory post-Tokyo. Just know Larson doesn't buy into the hype, understanding how Kevin Harvick trounced the field in 2020 only to have a few bad playoff races keep him from a second championship.  

That's bad news for competitors on the playoff bubble hoping to squeeze by him for a late upset. 

"I've been worried about the playoffs all season long," Larson explained. "Every stage, I'm thinking about it, every race win I'm thinking about it … you still have to execute, but if you can gain points, it'll make your life a little bit easier. 

"Great to get another five points today, and hopefully we can keep winning and keep stacking them up." 

Traffic Report

Green: Race time -- Watkins Glen was completed in a breezy two hours, 10 minutes and 57 seconds, around the average NBA gametime. For a sport often criticized for marathon-style, nearly four-hour events, didn't Sunday feel like good pacing?  

Yellow: Tyler Reddick -- That's five top-11 finishes in the last six races for the Richard Childress Racing driver holding down the final playoff spot. It's tough when the competition is the boss' grandson but Austin Dillon (15 points back) won't come close to catching Reddick at this rate. Lone concern: will another driver outside the top 16 earn a victory and blow by them both? 

Red: Daniel Suarez -- The Trackhouse Racing team purchasing Chip Ganassi Racing next season should have invigorated their playoff bid. Instead? Distractions abound for a team who's run 36th, 36th, 20th and 31st in the four races since the announcement.   

Speeding Ticket: Stage racing at road courses -- Right-turn competition in NASCAR also brings with it wild strategy. Where and how to pit for tires and fuel used to constantly shuffle up the field and raise the stakes up front. 

But how can you do that when you know when the stage breaks come? Only one full course caution was unplanned Sunday (in the second stage) which left all crew chiefs on virtually the same page. It took an element of surprise away and left NASCAR's race too predictable at a track type that's often been their best during the Gen-6 era. 

There has to be a better way to give bonus points to drivers during the race, increasing their aggression throughout, without being forced to throw the caution flag.  

Oops!

IndyCar's first race on the streets of Nashville took on a Demolition Derby style feel. Just five laps in, Marcus Ericsson's car went airborne in one of many wrecks on the day, unable to stop short with Sebastian Bourdais directly in front of him. 

Why bring up this IndyCar debacle here? Somehow, Ericsson came back with a new nose, used some strategy in nearly impossible passing conditions and wound up winning this race. What a drive.