Kyle Larson unstoppable again in NASCAR’s Hollywood Casino 400 playoff race at Kansas

Don’t tell Kyle Larson he had little to race for at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Larson, already assured of a spot in the NASCAR Cup Championship Four, raced with a heavy heart in winning the Hollywood Casino 400.

Larson, in the blue and white paint scheme once driven by the late Ricky Hendrick, dominated in the No. 5 Chevrolet and dedicated the victory to the memory of Hendrick, who died in a plane crash 17 years ago to the day.

Ricky Hendrick, then 21, also won the inaugural NASCAR event at Kansas Speedway when he claimed a trucks race in May 2001, three years before his death.

“I didn’t get to meet Ricky or the other men or women who lost their lives that day,” said Larson, whose pit crew members wore their caps backward on lap No. 5 in tribute to Hendrick. “But I felt the importance of this race, no doubt. I know they’re all looking down and helping me out on those restarts, after getting into the wall.

“Again, thank you to (team owner) Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I’m glad I could get that done.”

Larson, 29, traded the lead with Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron for most of the race before beating Elliott to the checkered flag by 3.6 seconds. It was Larson’s first win in 13 starts at Kansas, his series-leading ninth victory of the season and the 15th of his career.

Two non-playoff drivers and former champions, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, followed the two Hendrick drivers.

It was a good points day for defending series champion Elliott, who finished third and second in the two stages, plus his second-place finish, and will be a comfortable 36 points ahead of the cutline heading into next week’s event at Martinsville — the final playoff race before the Championship Four at Phoenix on Nov. 7.

Denny Hamlin, who was fifth in the Joe Gibbs No. 11 Toyota, will be 32 points ahead of the line, and like Elliott is almost a cinch to advance to the final four. Two-time champion Kyle Busch, who battled a series of issues on the blustery track, finished 28th and is clinging to a one-point lead over Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

Former Cup champions Martin Truex Jr. (minus-3 points), Brad Keselowski (minus-6) and Joey Logano (minus-6) will be close to must-win mode next week at Martinsville.

“The four of us will be racing for one spot,” Keselowski said. “Winning would obviously lock our way in but as you saw this week, as crazy as these races get, I am not sure that isn’t what you have to do.”

Larson, meanwhile, who will be in the Championship Four for the first time in his nine-year Cup career, will continue an assault on the NASCAR record book.

By leading 130 laps, Larson broke NASCAR’s single-season record for laps led since the Cup series went to 36 points races in 2001. His 2,397 laps led broke the mark held by Hall of Famer and former Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon in his championship season of 2001.

Larson’s win was his third straight (and fourth in eight playoff races) and marked the second time this season he has won three in a row. It also is the first time a driver has won three straight two times in a season since the late Dale Earnhardt in 1987.

“It should have been four in a row,” Larson joked of the first streak, because it included the June All-Star race, which isn’t a points-paying event. “It’s really cool to be on a streak like this. We’ve had to work a lot harder for this streak than the other one. That says a lot about our team to win on the Roval (at Charlotte) and Texas and today.”

And with nine victories this season, Larson has two more chances to become the 11th NASCAR Cup driver in the modern era (since 1972) to reach double figures and first since 2007 when Jimmie Johnson, also a Hendrick driver, won 10 in his championship season.

“I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the season,” said Larson, who was signed by Hendrick during the offseason after he was suspended by NASCAR and fired by Chip Ganassi racing early in 2020 for uttering a racial slur during an iRacing telecast. “I knew I would have lots of opportunities to get wins, but never did I feel I would win as often as we have.

“People don’t remember you unless you win the championship,” Larson added. “That’s my goal, and I hope we can finish it and top off as one of the top five greatest seasons ever.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2021 at 6:02 PM.