Larson Crushes Bristol Foes For Second Night Race Win

Kyle Larson celebrates his win in Saturday's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (HHP/Jim Fluharty photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – In stark contrast to the tire-eating chaos that punctuated the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson made the annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race a runaway.

After passing polesitter Alex Bowman in turn one on the 33rd of 500 laps at the .533-mile concrete high banks, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion never gave up the top spot under full green conditions again.

Larson crushed the field by leading four different times for 462 laps overall – fourth-most in Bristol history and the most since late Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough led 495 in April of 1977 – en route to his 28th career Cup Series victory, series-leading fifth of the year, and second in the Bristol Night Race.

It marked the most laps led in a single race by any Hendrick Motorsports driver in team history and served as a dominant statement that Larson is prepared to vie for his second series championship.

“I’ve had a lot of good cars since I’ve come to Hendrick Motorsports, so it’s tough to say if it was the best ever … but man, just great execution by my whole team all weekend long,” said Larson after giving son Owen a victory lap around the historic Bristol oval.

“We practiced well, qualified well, and just had a great night in every phase,” he added. “Thanks to the whole [No.] 5 team, because they’re the best in the business. We dominate a lot of races, but we don’t always close them out, so it feels really good to finish the job in this one. … Phenomenal car.”

John Hunter Nemechek’s spin in turn four on the fifth lap of the race looked like it might set the tone for a wild night under the lights, but in reality, it was the only caution in the entire 125-lap first stage.

All told, each of the three stages had just one yellow flag for incident, with Joey Logano crashing on the frontstretch on lap 243 – setting up a two-lap dash to the end of stage two – and Josh Berry tagging Corey LaJoie into an incident in turn two with 172 to go that eliminated LaJoie from the race.

Once the green flag waved for the final time on lap 338, the race went uninterrupted to the finish, with Larson taking the checkered flag 7.088 seconds clear of teammate Chase Elliott.

That gap made it the largest margin of victory in any race since the NextGen era began in 2022, another statement of dominance that Larson made in conquering The Last Great Colosseum.

“Some legendary Hall of Famers have raced for Hendrick Motorsports,” said Larson, nodding to the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Terry Labonte, among others. “We’ve all grown up watching Jeff and Jimmie dominate … so it’s cool to add my name to a few more records at Hendrick Motorsports and it’s a testament to how fortunate I am to be a part of this group. I’m having so much fun.”

Elliott’s runner-up result was his best Cup Series finish since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April, while Bubba Wallace was third as the highest non-playoff driver in the final rundown.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell closed the top five, with Hamlin’s fourth-place run propelling him from six points below the cut line to 15 above by night’s end.

Sixth through 10th were Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain. Only the top 10 finished on the lead lap Saturday night.

Hamlin’s move to stave off elimination pushed Ty Gibbs out of the top 12, after Gibbs entered the night on the bubble but copped a lap-130 speeding penalty that severely hampered his night and ultimately helped to end his playoff run after just one round.

Along with Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Harrison Burton were also eliminated with the conclusion of the Round of 16 at Bristol.

Larson enters the Round of 12 as the top-seeded driver, 39 points above the cut line and 15 ahead of Bell for the overall lead.

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue Sunday, Sept. 29 at Kansas Speedway with the running of the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET. Broadcast coverage is slated for 3 p.m. ET, live on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.