In every category, Kyle Larson has been the dominant driver by far in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. And considering that, it's perhaps only fitting that he has now become the first driver to secure the right to race for a championship.
After dominating throughout the day, Kyle Larson survived a number of restarts over the final 50 laps to win the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, earning his eighth and most important win of the season. With his victory, Larson has now advanced to the Championship 4 of the NASCAR playoffs, and he will race for his first Cup title in three weeks at Phoenix Raceway.
Larson was able to withstand several challenges from both Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron as well as Tyler Reddick, sweeping the season at Texas after winning the All-Star Race at this track in June.
1. #5 - Kyle Larson
2. #24 - William Byron
3. #20 - Christopher Bell
4. #2 - Brad Keselowski
5. #4 - Kevin Harvick
6. #12 - Ryan Blaney
7. #9 - Chase Elliott
8. #18 - Kyle Busch
9. #8 - Tyler Reddick
10. #99 - Daniel Suarez
"I knew we'd have a good shot to win today, and our car was amazing. That was probably the best 550 (horsepower) package, intermediate car we've had all year," Larson told NBC Sports. "… We get to go race for a championship in a few weeks. This is crazy."
Larson controlled the vast majority of the race, which saw little trouble for playoff drivers despite a close call for Kyle Busch: On the first restart after an early competition caution, a spin by Bubba Wallace off Turn 2 triggered a track-clogging crash on the back straightaway that involved 15 cars in total. Busch was behind the accident, but drove through without suffering major damage.
Then, things began to unravel for several playoff contenders: With less than 40 laps to go, Joey Logano fell out of the race after his engine blew up in Turn 2. Then, contact between Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney resulted in Hamlin cutting a left rear tire and spinning off Turn 2. Hamlin would also get collected in another backstretch crash, suffering extensive nose damage after hitting the spinning car of Chris Buescher.
His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., sustained a much bigger blow when contact between him and Daniel Suarez shot him hard into the Turn 4 wall, putting the 2017 Cup Champion in a big hole for the rest of the Round of 8.
Accidents thinned out the field significantly, with the most frightening taking place with 30 laps to go when rookie Anthony Alfredo was spun into the outside wall in a chain reaction following a save by Buescher. Fuel from Alfredo's car caught fire as it came to rest on the apron of the track, leading to large amounts of flames billowing from the driver's side of the car. Alfredo was able to climb out and was uninjured.
With Larson now moving on to the Championship 4, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch are the three drivers who are currently on the plus side of the Championship 4 cutoff line. While defending Cup Champion Chase Elliott sits only eight points below the cutoff line, Brad Keselowski (-15), Truex (-22), and Logano (-43) all have their work cut out for them as the Cup Series moves on to Kansas Raceway next week.
1. #5 - Kyle Larson (1 win)
2. #12 - Ryan Blaney (+17)
3. #11 - Denny Hamlin (+9)
4. #18 - Kyle Busch (+8)
5. #9 - Chase Elliott (-8)
6. #2 - Brad Keselowski (-15)
7. #19 - Martin Truex Jr. (-22)
8. #22 - Joey Logano (-43)
Kyle Larson thunders off Turn 4 to finish a dominant day and win at Texas Motor Speedway: His eighth victory of the season, and it'll advance him to the Championship 4.
1. #5 - Kyle Larson
2. #24 - William Byron
3. #20 - Christopher Bell
4. #2 - Brad Keselowski
5. #4 - Kevin Harvick
6. #12 - Ryan Blaney
7. #9 - Chase Elliott
8. #18 - Kyle Busch
9. #8 - Tyler Reddick
10. #99 - Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski couldn't clear William Byron for second. Side-by-side for second at the white flag with Larson pulling away.
Green flag with two laps to settle it. Kyle Larson gets a big push from Brad Keselowski into Turn 1.
Keep an eye on Christopher Bell in 4th: He has both track position and fresher tires than the rest of the leaders.
High attrition today has a few drivers in position to have nice finishes: Matt DiBenedetto (10th), Daniel Suarez (11th), and Erik Jones (12th) are the three most notable.
A Top 10 would be nice for DiBenedetto, who is currently without a ride for 2022.
Restart will come with 2 laps to go.
Joe Gibbs Racing has three cars left in the playoffs. Two of them -- Truex and Hamlin -- are now crashed.
Kyle Busch is running 9th and is probably hoping just to get out of the Lone Star State clean and in one piece.
Denny Hamlin was a bystander behind contact between Chase Briscoe and Buescher. Buescher spun down right into Hamlin's path and his crew is now trying to fix his nose for the last few laps.
Reddick was falling back through the Top 10 before another crash off Turn 2. Chris Buescher was spun hard into the inside wall and now Denny Hamlin has massive nose damage. Caution again.
Tyler Reddick gets a shot in the left rear off Turn 2 but Reddick saves it and keeps going. Harvick falls back to 7th. Reddick is now to the inside of Byron and they both MAKE CONTACT.
Restart with 9 laps to go. Larson and Byron have been the two dominant cars of the day, and now they're on the front row with less than 10 laps to settle it.
Martin Truex Jr. took a shot in the left rear from Daniel Suarez, and it shot Truex straight into the outside wall in what was a vicious impact.
HARD crash in Turn 4 and it's Martin Truex Jr.! Another playoff driver with issues and this looks like terminal damage.
Caution is out yet again.
Green flag is back in the air. Kyle Larson gets a big push from his Hendrick teammate in William Byron, which allows Larson to get clear of the #8. Byron now challenging Reddick for second spot.
Restart will come with 16 laps to go.
Texas Motor Speedway has produced two first-time winners in its history: Jeff Burton (1997) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000). Tyler Reddick is trying to become the third.
Denny Hamlin is able to get his tires changed and his fender clear before the pace car comes around, allowing him to stay on the lead lap. However, Hamlin will have to restart at the rear of the field because he entered a closed pit.
Denny Hamlin's left rear tire goes down and he spins coming out of Turn 2. Hamlin noses it into the inside wall and the caution is out.
William Byron gets sideways in Turn 2 and Tyler Reddick takes second spot. Reddick was second in this race last year and he's looking for his first Cup win again.
Logjam from fifth on back. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney made contact off Turn 4 and now Hamlin has a tire rub.
