One-hundredth of a second was the difference between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell in qualifying for the South Point 400. Larson just missed out on the pole as Bell bested him on Saturday.
In Sunday’s South Point 400, Larson got the better of Bell — but not by much.
Larson led a race-high 133 laps, won both stages and held off a late charge from Bell to win the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 playoff opener by 0.082 seconds at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With the win, Larson qualified for the Championship 4 and will race for the title Nov. 5 in Phoenix.
A key pit stop with 55 laps to go helped Larson regain control of the race. His No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports pit crew helped Larson gain two spots as he jumped Bell, who entered pit road as the race leader.
“The pit crew did a great job on that final stop to get us in control of the race,” Larson said. “We stretched it out enough — I knew they were going to be coming in the end. I was hoping that I had enough time to hold on, which, thankfully, we did.”
Larson admitted he wasn’t confident he could hold off Bell as the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota grew closer in the rearview mirror of Larson’s Chevrolet as the laps winded down.
With lapped cars in the way on the final lap, Larson opted to run in the middle of the track, where he hadn’t run all day, and hoped for the best.
“I didn’t really know what to do at that point,” Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, said. “So I thought my best bet or an opportunity for me to at least hold on to lead off Turn 4 was to go to the middle and hope that I had enough grip.”
Said Bell after his late charge: “I think I could have completed the pass had I got there earlier. (Larson) was really struggling and hanging on. I just didn’t get there.”
Larson’s day almost ended early, as he had trouble in Turn 2, which gave several drivers trouble during the weekend. Larson got loose, slid up the track and hit the wall off the second turn around the 1½-mile oval during Stage 2.
Instead of wrecking, Larson’s dirt track skills came in handy, as he regained control of his car and continued.
How many drivers could make that save and go on to win the race?
“Probably not many,” Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, said. “That’s a huge credit to (Larson).”
Sunday’s win capped off an eventful week for Larson.
The 31-year-old won the High Limit Sprint Car Series championship, a dirt track racing series founded by Larson and his brother-in-law Brad Sweet, on Tuesday. Larson took part in the Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday in preparation for his run in the Indianapolis 500 in 2024.
“It’s been a memorable week,” Larson said. “A little bit crazier than normal, but my weeks stay pretty crazy so it was normal in a way.”
With his second championship in sight, Larson said he’s having similar feelings to the year he won the title.
Larson picked up his first win with Hendrick Motorsports at LVMS in the spring of 2021. He also won the Round of 8 playoff opener at Texas on his way to the title, which gave his team two extra weeks to prepare for the championship race.
The extra time can be a benefit to Larson’s team, but the Elk Grove, California, native said his team won’t be looking too far ahead.
“It’s nice to win and be locked in,” Larson said. “You can focus on Phoenix. But at the same point, you can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
“I want to go into Phoenix with a lot of confidence and momentum,” he added. “If (Monday) I start worrying about Phoenix and then have two bad runs at Homestead and Martinsville, I think that would kill our momentum and confidence for Phoenix. I put a lot of pressure on myself and our team to not get complacent and treat every race like it means everything.”
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