One of the world’s best racing drivers delivered a virtuoso performance on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, dominated his NASCAR Cup Series competitors and earned a convincing win in the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400.
Larson beat runner-up Christopher Bell to the checkered flag by 1.511 seconds on the reconfigured 17-turn, 2.28-mile circuit for his second career ROVAL™ victory and his sixth win of the season. William Byron was third, followed by Austin Cindric in fourth and Chase Elliott in fifth.
After Larson’s previous ROVAL™ victory in 2021, Larson went on to win his only NASCAR Cup Series championship.
After the cutoff race to enter the Round of 8, Larson, Bell, Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Stage 2 winner Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and regular season champion Tyler Reddick advanced into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series championship playoffs with four races remaining. William Byron secured advancement prior to Sunday’s race.
Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez were eliminated from championship contention following the race. All four eliminated drivers were below the playoff threshold entering the race. Logano missed out to Reddick, the Stage 1 winner, by four points for the final spot in the Round of 8.
With Larson leading a race-high 62 laps, much of the late drama centered on the race between Reddick and Logano for the final advancement spot. Even though Logano finished eighth and Reddick ended up 11th, Reddick’s 14-point advantage entering the race proved to be just enough cushion to keep his championship dreams alive.
Reddick was hampered early in the second stage when he bumped into Hamlin going around the treacherous new Turn 7, and suffered some crippling mechanical damage. With fresh tires and solid pit work entering Stage 3, Reddick managed to work his way through the field enough to keep his championship dreams alive.
Larson completed the 109 laps in 3 hours, 0 minutes and 3 seconds for an average speed of 82.817 mph on his way to his 29th career NASCAR Cup Series win. Six drivers exchanged the lead seven times, with five caution periods taking up 13 laps.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET (RACE WINNER): “It was cool to win here at home and have everyone here in Victory Lane celebrating. The crew’s families and kids, that’s what makes it special to win in Charlotte. It was a great day. Hendrick Motorsports is just two minutes away. It makes it great when you can win here. Everyone sacrifices so much time, when they have these photos from today it’ll be great for them to look back on. It’s extra special to win here for sure.
“[There are] no statements that we’re trying to send. I think the field knows we are strong. It’s nice to win and gain five more points into the next round. I’m excited to get through today and help ourselves in the next round.”
CLIFF DANIELS, NO. 5 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET (WINNING CREW CHIEF): “We have a strong amount of respect for all the teams in the Round of 8. I think our No. 1 competitor is ourselves. Yes, the competition is going to be there. We need to stay tunnel visioned. The opening race in each round haven’t been kind to us. It’s going to take handling the little details. The No. 5 is always the beneficiary of the other three teams working together so well. It always evolves. I’ve been thankful to be in this position with Kyle and the No. 5 team. We’ve been surrounded by some great leadership along the way. Having four teams in the Round of 8 doesn’t happen by accident. I’m very thankful to be a part of it.
[Larson has] had the intensity and desire to be as good as ever right now. He was very determined to go in [the simulator]. I was the one trying to get him out of it. He wanted to find the cadence of hitting each corner. He came in with a mission that day and it certainly paid off. … Phoenix, for Hendrick Motorsports, started the day after Phoenix last year. It hurt last year to get beat for the championship. The day after that race, we started coming up with plans [to win].”
RICK HENDRICK, NO. 5 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET (WINNING TEAM OWNER): “You always talk about getting them into the Round of 8, but it’s so hard to do. You saw people above and below [the cutline] have trouble. The next three tracks are very good for us. Kyle set a blistering pace and we got everyone into the next round. Every year, you want to get better and better. Our teams have been better together. Bill France said, ‘Your mind will take you places your body won’t go,’ and I’m getting there. I’m living a dream. Nothing fuels you more than getting to that championship race and not winning.
“Every race this year, we’ve been looking toward Phoenix. We talked about it in the off-season, early in the season, and now, we want to finish the job. … Having all four in the final eight was the goal and we accomplished it. Now, we have to go out and win races and do the best we can. I’m thinking about the next three races right now.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, NO. 20 JOE GIBBS RACING TOYOTA (RUNNER-UP): “It was good but not great. It’s weird. You wouldn’t think dirty air is a big deal on these road courses but it is. Hopefully, we get a re-do in Phoenix.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET (THIRD PLACE): “It was kind of all we had. It was a good day, but I definitely wanted more. It feels good [to finish third]. I mean, we’ve always been pretty good in this round. The way it’s laid out, I really don’t know why, but we’ve executed really well and not made many mistakes. That’s the key and I feel like in this next round, continuing to bring more speed will be critical. We’ll see where we are from there.”
Additional Quotes:
FIFTH PLACE: CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET: “Really proud of everyone in Hendrick Motors[ports to have four of the last eight standing. I hope everyone is really proud because that’s a hard thing to do. Obviously I’d love to win the race but I was pretty proud of that effort. We had to take the stage points but you put yourself in an uphill battle. Glad to be moving on. You get to the Round of 8, it’s anyone’s ballgame.”
EIGHTH PLACE: JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 TEAM PENSKE FORD: “We fought hard, for sure. We just didn’t get quite enough at the end. Tyler did a good job going up through the field. Congrats to them, they fought hard. It just wasn’t meant to be. You can think through the season and find four points in a lot of places.”
10TH PLACE: RYAN BLANEY, NO. 12 TEAM PENSKE FORD: “We were in a decent spot coming into the game. We did the stage-point game. Appreciate everyone on this No. 12 team. I look forward to the next three weeks. I think they line up for us well.”
11TH PLACE: TYLER REDDICK, NO. 45 23XI RACING TOYOTA: “Me and my boss [Hamlin] got together [in the second stage]. This thing was absolutely destroyed. A big thank you to the team. We kept working on it and got it better for Stage 3. You just have to stay calm and focused. It’s so easy to lose track of what you can control. It just worked out for us and got us to the good side of the cutline.”
14TH PLACE: DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 JOE GIBBS RACING TOYOTA: “Seven is the same as 100. It’s such a tough spot to be in when you were up like we were. You can’t be as aggressive as you want to but you can’t give away positions, either. Great job by our team.”
TICKETS:
Tickets to upcoming speedway events, including the Nov. 6-9 World of Outlaws World Finals, are available at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267).
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