Q. Kyle, welcome to the Round of 12. You picked a good day to finally execute a race, didn’t you.
KYLE LARSON: Yeah, finally from start to finish. 18th to third in the first stage, I didn’t think that was possible.
Our race car was really good when the sun was out. Just had to work on it. I messed up once and it got hung in neutral, and I slid and hit the wall, and I think bent the toe link a little bit, so it was kind of a struggle from there. Definitely had to fight it more than I was earlier, but we kept our heads in the game. That was really important. This race is all about keeping your head in it.
I’ve been pretty hard on myself here the last couple months, but having a leader like Cliff, he really is good for my mind.
Just proud of the team, proud of Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews, Chad Knaus, everybody at Hendrick Engine shop. 500 wins, that’s incredible, so congratulations to each and every one of you at the shop for all your hard work. Valvoline, JINYA Ramen Bar, all of Hendrick Motorsports.
What a great way to start the playoffs and hopefully we can keep it going.
Q. You have some big wins in your career, a championship obviously, but you’ve been trying a long time to win here at Darlington. Where does a Southern 500 win rank for you?
KYLE LARSON: It’s definitely in the top 5. This has been one of my favorite tracks my whole career and been really, really fast here my whole career, just usually get in the wall. Finally we have the Next-Gen car that’s tough enough to allow me to hit the wall, so was able to make some mistakes and get a win.
Adding this trophy to the collection is going to be amazing, and just such a prestigious race. This is one of three or four crown jewels, and I feel like besides the 500 maybe the only one I haven’t won yet. We get to hopefully go back to the Brickyard next year on the oval and would love to win that one, too.
Just proud of this bunch again. Pit crew came in clutch there at the end to get us out in the lead. Had some things work out, staying out when that car was spinning out, too, so just kind of fell in our lap there, and we were able to take advantage of it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
