Miscues Derail Larson From Potential Victory In Miami

Kyle Larson speaks to reporters post-race Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (HHP/Harold Hinson photo)

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – There’s a cliché saying in life: one day you can be on top of the world, and then the next day you can find it on top of you.

Kyle Larson, one of the arguable NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 favorites, found himself on both sides of that phrase and ultimately below the provisional playoff cut line after finishing 13th in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It sets up a crucial moment in Larson’s season, after he got in trouble early with a cut tire, rebounded to have a shot for the victory, but fell short again after a spin in the final laps while battling then-leader Ryan Blaney.

Larson attempted a three-wide pass for the lead on Blaney and Austin Dillon in the middle of turn three, which led to a spin with 13 laps to go that took him out of a shot to win his way into the title decider.

“I mean you’re making split-second decisions. Austin Dillon did nothing wrong. I was just hoping that he would see me coming as Blaney got to his inside, and maybe he’d run a lane off the wall just to give me some clean air. He continued to run his line,” said Larson of the incident.

“I had a little bit of a hole, and I was trying to shoot the gap to get in front of Dillon and get to the wall quickly. I either wanted to stay on the outside of Blaney or build a run to have a shot at him in turns one and two. It just didn’t work out. I was going as hard as I could.”

Crew chief Cliff Daniels and Larson wanted to keep their team from being in a season-defining situation entering Martinsville Speedway, however, a bit of aggression by the No. 5 ended up being too much to prevent a setback.

While not out of it completely, the 32-year-old finds himself seven points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron for the fourth and final Championship 4 spot to advance to the season finale at Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway.

The Elk Grove, Calif., native rolled off the starting grid second, but then came up empty of stage points Sunday. After sustaining a flat tire due to his spin, Larson was able to salvage a top 15, but it wasn’t nearly what he needed to feel comfortable entering the semifinal race of the season.

Turning the page to Martinsville, since arriving at Hendrick Motorsports, Larson hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 at the track dating back to April of 2022. He also won at the track in the 2023 spring race, but still doesn’t claim the Paper Clip as one of his better racetracks.

“We’ve been strong at Martinsville at times, so we’ll see. It’s not my best track, but I’ve been a lot better there since I joined Hendrick Motorsports,” said Larson. “We just need to qualify well and give it our best shot.”

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion has appeared in the final round in two out of the last three years he’s been at Hendrick Motorsports. However, in order to advance on Sunday, he’ll have to go through Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, but also teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron.

Coverage of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville begins Sunday, Oct. 27 at 2:30 p.m. ET live on NBC, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.