CONCORD, N.C. -- Kyle Larson’s hot streak continued at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday night after he took home his second All-Star Race win and third NASCAR Cup Series victory in a row.
With a unique racing format with six rounds that saw the field inverted several times, Larson battled back after he fell back in lap traffic in the second round. Larson restarted third for the 10-lap shootout at the end of the race and his daring move around teammate Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski paid off.
“I definitely wanted to be third because I wanted to be able to choose the outside,” Larson said of his final restart strategy. “That restart just worked out perfect where Chase kind of got choked up and I was able to get to his back bumper and push him past the 12 to get him a little bit clearer … I kind of eyeballed it under yellow and I was like, you know what, we have a 10-lap run and there's no points on the line, I'm going to go for it if I get the chance, and if I wreck, I wreck.”
Luckily for Larson, he was able to pass the two lead cars and cruise to victory lane for the first all-star event in the Lone Star State after he broke away from the pack with a couple of laps to go.
Both Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels conceded that the first couple of rounds were difficult since the car wasn’t where they wanted it to be. They readjusted and Larson was able to gain track positions for better restarts in rounds four and five. Since this particular All-Star Race format had never been implemented before, Daniels credited the entire No. 5 race team for working so flawlessly together.
“A team is really only as strong as its weakest link, and we just don't have any,” Daniels said. “All the guys on our team are racers and they live, eat and breathe this stuff. They put in so much prep time at the shop, and of course all teams do, and I think what is helping us right now is just the chemistry.”
Including the All-Star Race, Larson has posted a finished no worse than second in the last five Cup Series events. Naturally, many are predicting the Elk Grove, California, native to earn the 2021 Cup Series championship. However, Larson stated there are still 20 races left in the season with the top stock car drivers in the world.
“Races are hard to win and championships are even harder to win,” he said. “We've just got to keep working really hard. This is definitely the best opportunity I've ever had to win the championship. But there's still a long season left, and other cars and teams are going to get better and so will we. Just got to keep working hard, and hopefully we can have ourselves in position come October or November.”
Daniels echoed Larson and added he’s been leaning on No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson as the season has progressed, especially preparing for the tracks during the hot summer months which are taxing on the cars and the teams.
“Alan Gustafson has taught me this a lot – it is a long summer and it is a long year,” Daniels said. “There were some things that happened to the 9 in 2020 if you look at the championship run that they went on, where the summertime they had a couple tough moments, they knew it was a long year and they kind of regained their strength and executed at the end of the year.
“Really, that's on us now to make sure we get through the stretch of the hot summer months strong, and everybody is still maintaining the good chemistry that we have now within our company – within our team – and take that into the playoffs. We all know that this is the Cup Series. Things go in cycles.”