Anyone who has seen Kyle Larson race knows that he is most comfortable, and most dangerous, when he is able to put his car up on the cushion and simply let it rip. In stock cars, that means putting it right up against the wall and letting the rough side drag -- which is exactly what Larson did in his finest performance of the 2022 season.
Despite some hiccups along the way, including an ill-timed caution during green flag pit stops and a pit road run-in that ultimately decided the race, Kyle Larson turned in a dominant performance by leading 199 of 267 laps to win the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Larson's victory is his third of the 2022 season, and it also puts his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team in the Championship 4 in the NASCAR Owner's Championship. Larson, who was eliminated from the driver's championship in the Round of 12, can no longer win that title.
At a track where tire wear is extremely high and the ability to stay in the throttle is at a premium, Larson was prohibitively faster than the rest of the field by being able to run right up against the wall in the corners. While Larson had the fastest car, it took a little more than that for the 2021 Cup Series champion to take the checkered flag.
"Definitely the best run we've had all year long," Larson told NBC Sports. "We've been capable of it, I feel like, many weekends. We just haven't quite put it all together. (Crew chief Cliff Daniels) gave a great speech this morning and got us all ready to go and focused. I did my best to keep it out of the wall -- I got in the wall a few times, but I could still make speed doing that. Amazing race car."
By the time Sunday's race came up on 60 laps to go, it was evident that pit strategy would play a factor in the outcome. The assumption was that things would boil down to who employed a one-stop strategy or a two-stop strategy, but things ended up turning out quite a bit differently.
As a round of green flag stops played out, Kyle Larson was just about to come to pit road to make his stop when Ryan Blaney spun out on the access road exiting the pits, bringing out the caution with 56 laps to go. While that allowed Larson to make his stop under caution while pinning several other contenders a lap down, the timing of the caution ended up being an enormous break for Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain -- both of whom were on pit road when the caution came out and before Larson came around to lap them, allowing them to stay out and take the top two spots as the rest of the leaders pitted under yellow.
Over the course of the ensuing run, Larson was able to drive back up to second, but Truex was still enjoying a comfortable lead when Tyler Reddick spun and crashed on the backstretch to bring out the final caution of the day with 23 laps to go. That meant another round of pit stops that would end up determining the race in bizarre fashion.
As Truex was pulling out of line to pull into his pit stall, Larson ran into Truex's rear bumper, spinning his No. 19 Toyota into his pit box and sending Truex's pit crew scrambling to avoid their driver's spinning car. Truex and his team were able to complete their pit stop, but the incident led to Truex losing his track position as his car had to be serviced while facing the wrong way.
Larson explained that Truex was on his brakes and had been late turning into his stall, and he also made a point that glare from driving into the sun played a role in the incident. Truex, who recovered to finish sixth but was denied his first win of the season, also cited the combination of glare and debris on his windshield.
"I did see my box late for sure, and so I slowed down before I turned out of the way of the No. 5 there," Truex told NBC Sports. "Obviously partly on me, I didn't expect to get turned around. I'm glad nobody got hurt there.
"But overall, it's just disappointing to have a good day going like that and have a shot at winning and couldn't close the deal. I hate it for my team. It's been one of those years."
With Larson taking the checkered flag, no driver in the Round of 8 was able to secure a spot in the Championship 4. That leaves three open spots in next weekend's elimination race at Martinsville, with some drivers in more dire straits than others.
Faring worst of all playoff drivers on Sunday was Chase Briscoe, who had been struggling throughout the race before getting sideways and pounding the wall in the apex of Turns 1 and 2. Briscoe broke an upper control arm, putting him out of the race and saddling him with a 36th-place finish.
Briscoe (-44) and Christopher Bell (-33) face must-win scenarios at Martinsville, and it's also getting late for Ryan Blaney (-18). But in the final laps at Homestead, a major points swing occurred when Denny Hamlin got loose and brushed the wall, costing him a potential top-five finish and dropping him back to seventh -- meaning that he is now five points below William Byron for the final spot in the Championship 4.
Byron, Chase Elliott (+11) and Ross Chastain (+19) currently hold the three open spots alongside Joey Logano, who clinched a Championship 4 spot by winning at Las Vegas.
The Round of 8 ends and the Championship 4 will be decided next week at NASCAR's oldest track, as the Cup Series heads to the timeless Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 next Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
In a flashback to his dominant 2021 season, Kyle Larson leads 199 of 267 laps and dominates to take his third win of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway!
1 - #5 - Kyle Larson
2 - #1 - Ross Chastain
3 - #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
4 - #3 - Austin Dillon
5 - #6 - Brad Keselowski
6 - #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
7 - #11 - Denny Hamlin
8 - #4 - Kevin Harvick
9 - #18 - Kyle Busch
10 - #99 - Daniel Suarez
Kyle Larson driving off into the sunset as Chastain and Allmendinger continue their dogfight for second. White flag.
Kyle Larson's lead is now 1.5 seconds. Two laps to go.
Denny Hamlin has brushed the wall off Turn 4, and it costs him multiple positions. That has huge implications at the cut line, as Hamlin is now three points behind William Byron.
Ross Chastain brushed the wall again. The gap is still about a second but neither Chastain nor Allmendinger have shown any pace to try and run down Larson. Five to go.
Chastain got into the wall in Turns 3 and 4 but holds onto second. Seven to go.
Speaking of seventh, that's where Martin Truex Jr. is up to after his pit road spin. Driving angry.
Allmendinger brushes the wall off Turn 4, which gives Chastain second back. That's all Kyle Larson needs to see in his mirror as he builds a second lead.
Chastain and Allmendinger have begun to fall off of Larson's bumper. They're side-by-side with each other for second while Larson starts to pull away.
Now Allmendinger takes second from Chastain. Chastain trying to fight back.
Larson is able to hold off Chastain for now. 10 to go.
Chastain dives to the inside to take second from Allmendinger. It was only a brief battle, which doesn't help Larson much. 11 to go and the top three are separated by three carlengths.
