Having already secured his ticket to the Championship 4 last week at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson's objective on Sunday at Kansas Speedway was clear: Add another win to his banner 2021 season, bring a checkered flag to Hendrick Motorsports on a somber day for the company, and make all of his title competitors have to sweat out next week's elimination race.
After a day controlled by Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Kyle Larson was able to drive away from a hard-charging Chase Elliott over the final 10 laps to win the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, earning his third win in a row and ninth of the season. Having already won three-straight races earlier this year, Larson becomes the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to have multiple three-peats in a single season since Dale Earnhardt back in 1987.
Larson's victory was a special one for Hendrick Motorsports, as it comes 17 years to the day that a Hendrick Motorsports plane crashed into a mountain en route to a race at Martinsville Speedway, killing all 10 people aboard including multiple members of Rick Hendrick's family. One of those was his son and former NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, who earned the lone victory of his Truck Series career at Kansas driving a paint scheme similar to the one Larson now races.
1. #5 - Kyle Larson
2. #9 - Chase Elliott
3. #4 - Kevin Harvick
4. #1 - Kurt Busch
5. #11 - Denny Hamlin
6. #24 - William Byron
7. #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
8. #20 - Christopher Bell
9. #22 - Joey Logano
10. #3 - Austin Dillon
"I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick). I didn't get to ever meet Ricky the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race no doubt," Larson told NBC Sports. "Crazy kind of how it all worked out there for me to win. I know they were all looking down, helping me out there on all the restarts and after getting in the wall.
"Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you, and I'm glad I could get it done."
Despite a brush with the wall, Larson was able to avoid major troubles on a day where tire issues were prevalent among the remaining playoff contenders. Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Brad Keselowski all suffered tire problems, and Ryan Blaney did as well -- though Blaney's issues would later become far worse.
With 44 laps to go, Blaney was hit in the left rear quarter panel after Austin Dillon got sideways underneath him, sending Blaney's car up the track and hard into the outside wall. Blaney would finish 37th, sending him from having a sizeable points cushion over the cutoff line for the Championship 4 to now being one point behind Kyle Busch for the final Championship 4 spot with one race left in the Round of 8.
"Didn't have a great day, but we did a good job of fighting back and getting back in the Top 10," Blaney told NBC Sports. "And just getting wiped out when you have plenty of room sucks."
By virtue of Kyle Larson's two wins in the Round of 8, he is the only driver guaranteed a spot in the Championship 4 heading into next Sunday's elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. While Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin both have over 30 points above the cutoff line, Blaney's issues have created a logjam for the final spot with only seven points separating Busch, Blaney, Truex, and Keselowski.
1. #5 - Kyle Larson (2 wins)
2. #9 - Chase Elliott (+34)
3. #11 - Denny Hamlin (+32)
4. #18 - Kyle Busch (+1)
5. #12 - Ryan Blaney (-1)
6. #19 - Martin Truex Jr. (-3)
7. #2 - Brad Keselowski (-6)
8. #22 - Joey Logano (-26)
Kyle Larson goes two-for-two in the Round of 8, coming off Turn 4 to earn his ninth win of the season at Kansas.
1. #5 - Kyle Larson
2. #9 - Chase Elliott
3. #4 - Kevin Harvick
4. #1 - Kurt Busch
5. #11 - Denny Hamlin
6. #24 - William Byron
7. #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
8. #20 - Christopher Bell
9. #22 - Joey Logano
10. #3 - Austin Dillon
Today's win is surely extra special for Hendrick Motorsports: Larson's primary paint scheme is a throwback to the paint scheme that Ricky Hendrick raced during his NASCAR career.
Hendrick's lone career win came in the Truck Series at Kansas. He retired near the end of the 2002 season due to the after-effects of injuries suffered in a crash at Las Vegas.
Kyle Larson now has over 2.5 seconds on Chase Elliott. White flag.
Elliott's brush with the wall was inopportune, as Larson had a lot of trouble trying to get around the lapped cars of David Starr and Aric Almirola. Coming to three to go.
Chase Elliott brushed the wall coming off Turn 2 and loses half a second on Kyle Larson. Does it again with 5 to go.
Elliott is now under seven tenths of a second back.
Elliott was faster than Larson with 9 to go and the gap is now under a second. Some lapped traffic upcoming.
Elliott gained two tenths on that lap. 1.1 seconds back with 9 to go.
10 laps to go. The lead has remained stable for Kyle Larson, as it still stands at 1.3 seconds over Elliott.
Kevin Harvick has to get out of the throttle and Elliott is able to make quick work of him. Elliott has 13 laps to run down Larson from 1.3 seconds back.
New challenger for second: Chase Elliott is ripping the wall and he's now run down Kevin Harvick. Better watch these two.
Something to watch with under 20 to go: Brad Keselowski is back in the free pass spot, racing with Cole Custer for that. Keselowski needs a caution, but he's in a position to get his lap back.
Keselowski is now just six points below the cutoff line despite his issues today.
Kevin Harvick has pulled away from both Elliott and Busch but is still half a second back of Kyle Larson. Elliott and Busch are in a spirited battle for third.
Kevin Harvick has fallen back from Kyle Larson and is now under attack from Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott. Lead is now about half a second.
Problem for Tyler Reddick. Looks like he had a left front tire go down. He's on pit road.
