KANSAS CITY, Kan.— Kyle Larson led the way at Kansas Speedway for Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.
The reigning champion rallied from early woes and held the lead with 10 laps to go but could not hold on to the point position in the closing laps. Race winner Kurt Busch took the lead from Larson on lap 259 and the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 would come home in second. It was an eventful race for Larson, who got into the wall several times, but was able to grab his sixth top-five finish of the season.
"We were racing for the win there. He never got into me, so I’m trying to squeeze throttle to get position on him and just got tight," Larson said of his closing laps battle with the race winner. "That was fun racing with Kurt (Busch). I about spun out in front of him there at some point in the third stage and then we just kept fighting through it.
"... I did my best but came up one spot short."
Alex Bowman grabbed his eighth top-10 finish of the season with a ninth-place result for his sixth top-10 finish at Kansas. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 now has top 10s in all three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season.
"We had a fast No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 today," Bowman said. "Greg (Ives, crew chief) and the crew did a good job at keeping me in it and giving me what I needed to stay up front. Super proud of my guys and the hard work they put in each week to continue to learn about the new car and give me what I need to be competitive."
William Byron would finish the race in 16th, while Chase Elliott placed 29th following a spin off turn three in the final stage. Elliott does maintain the points lead coming out of Kansas.
On the day, Hendrick Motorsports led 64 laps with Larson leading 29, Byron pacing the field for 25 laps and Elliott out front for 10 circuits.
Next week will see the NASCAR Cup Series head to Texas Motor Speedway for the non-points paying NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 22 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Hendrick Motorsports quartet of drivers have all qualified for the All-Star Race and will battle for the chance to win $1,000,000.
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: Second
Race notes
Stage one: The fall winner at Kansas started third for the 267-lap event and was there when the first caution came out on lap 7. On the ensuing restart, Larson followed in the footsteps of Tyler Reddick to take second from polesitter Christopher Bell. The reigning champ was in close pursuit of Reddick and took the lead on lap 34 just before a caution came out. He would pit on lap 36 for service but had a slow stop that dropped him back to 10th due to what crew chief Cliff Daniels called a "snug" left rear wheel that almost wouldn’t come off. Larson was not able to gain ground on that run as he reported that he was tight on entry and Daniels told him the right front fender was pushed in. When the caution fell on lap 63, he was running 11th. On lap 65, he pitted for the team to take time to fix the damage to the fender. The resulting stop saw him restart 24th on lap 68 and the fixes helped him make up ground in quick fashion as he was up to 14th three laps later. He would finish the stage in 15th.
Stage two: During the stage break, Larson pitted after reporting that his car "felt really good then got real loose" on the last run. His crew would gain him some spots in the pits and thanks to penalties that set him up to restart 10th. A battle with Bell early in stage two saw him clip the wall. He moved up to eighth following trouble for Reddick and his teammate William Byron. On lap 126, Larson came down for four tires and fuel during a green-flag pit stop. A caution came out just after Larson’s stop and he would stay out and remain on the lead lap – restarting sixth on lap 137. When the stage ended, the Elk Grove, California, native was scored in sixth.
Final stage: Larson pitted during the stage break and gained two spots on pit road to restart fourth with a pit road penalty to stage one winner Kyle Busch moving him to third. The driver of the No. 5 would use the low line to navigate around Ryan Blaney for second on lap 177. He had the fastest car early in the run of the final stage and was in pursuit of Kurt Busch for the lead. Larson used a slide job to get the lead briefly before the car broke loose and nicked the wall to allow Busch to pass him back – while Larson made an incredible save to avoid significant damage.
He would radio in that the right rear felt on fire and was told by Daniels to let it cool down. Larson would drop to third on lap 190 when Denny Hamlin passed him. Under caution on lap 199, Larson pitted from third and gained a spot on pit road to restart second on lap 202. Larson and Busch would battle for the lead on the ensuing restart and battle back-and-forth over the initial laps. Running the fence, Larson would clip the wall while trying to chase down the 2004 champion for the lead. He would clip the wall again to briefly lose third to Kyle Busch before passing him back a lap later. Larson would lose third to the two-time Cup champion again a few laps later. But, he would get third back on lap 228, this time from Bell. Under caution on lap 231, Larson pitted from third for four tires and fuel to come out second. He would choose the inside lane for the lap 235 restart next to Kyle Busch. Larson would get ahead of the No. 18 for the lead. However, both Busch brothers would be in pursuit of Larson in the ensuing laps as he could not drive away from them with Kurt eventually being the main pursuer over the closing laps. The No. 5 got loose and lost the lead to Kurt Busch on lap 259. Contact with the wall on the next lap while trying to run down the leader, saw Larson lose ground for the point position.
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: Ninth
Race notes
Stage one: For the sixth time at Kansas, Bowman started in the top 10 in eighth and was running there at the time of the first caution. On the restart, the driver of the No. 48 went backwards to 14th before pushing forward from there. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway spring winner pitted from 12th on lap 36 and a strong stop from the No. 48 pit crew put Bowman back in the top 10 in eighth. On the restart, he was able to pick up a spot to seventh and was running there when the caution came out for Daniel Suarez on lap 63. Following a lap 65 pit stop, Bowman came out of the pits to restart 13th. On lap 69, Bowman rejoined the top 10. As the stage completed, he edged out Denny Hamlin for the final position that earned stage points – 10th.
Stage two: Hitting pit road during the stage break, Bowman gained ground in the pits and penalties to others helped push him up to sixth for the restart. He would settle into eighth after the restart but moved back up to sixth after trouble found two drivers running in the top 10 about 30-plus laps into the stage. On lap 125, Bowman pitted from the top five under green. With a caution coming right after his pit stop, Bowman would get the free pass to get back on the lead lap. Coming to the lap 137 restart, he was scored 17th. He would finish stage two in 15th.
Final stage: Bowman would pit during the stage break and the quick work of the 48 crew put him back in the top 10, restarting ninth. The No. 48 worked the bottom lane on the restart to jump up to seventh. Bowman made contact with Cindric on lap 180 while the two were battling for sixth. Pitting from sixth under caution on lap 199, Bowman came out in the same spot and avoided damage from a loose wheel off of Bubba Wallace’s car for the lap 202 restart. He would settle into seventh after the initial laps off the restart. Under caution, Bowman pitted on lap 231 from seventh and came out eighth for the lap 235 restart. He would maintain a spot in the top 10 over the final green-flag run and finish in ninth.
William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: 16th
Race notes
Stage one: The driver of the No. 24 lined up 13th for Sunday’s race and picked up one spot when the caution fell six laps in. The ensuing restart saw Byron settle in 15th for a spell right in front of his teammate Chase Elliott. On lap 36, the two-time winner in 2022 pitted from 16th for four tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a chassis adjustment to come out 11th. On the restart, Byron picked off two spots to enter the top 10 for the first time and by the time the lap 63 caution flew, he was up to eighth. On lap 65, he pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and restarted eighth. A few laps after the restart, Byron was in the top five and would finish the stage in fifth.
Stage two: Following the end of stage one, Byron pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment as he gained a spot on pit road and another from a pit road penalty to restart third. Byron chose the high lane before using a sling-shot move to the apron to pass Ross Chastain and Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. On lap 98, he had opened up over a one-second lead on Chastain and a few laps later that lead was up to two seconds. From the lead, Byron hit the wall off of turn four and had a left-rear tire go down on lap 114. He pitted for four tires and fuel under green and came out of the pits in 32nd, two laps down. When the lap 127 caution fell, Byron was scored one lap down in 25th. He would take the wave around to get back on the lead lap. On older tires than the rest of the field, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native picked off a few spots to finish the stage in 21st.
Final stage: Byron came to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The 24 pit crew had to navigate an issue with the tether on the left rear and still gained five spots to restart 17th. Under caution on lap 199, Byron pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to restart 16th on lap 202. On lap 207, he rejoined the top 10 with a pass on his Darlington Raceway foe Joey Logano. Under caution on lap 231, Byron pitted from 10th for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to restart 10th on lap 235. The low line didn’t quite get going on the restart and combined with a "plowing tight" condition, Byron would lose several positions over the final green-flag run.
Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: 29th
Race notes
Stage one: The 2018 Kansas fall race winner started the race 14th and was running there at the time of the first caution on lap 6. Struggles with the top lane on the restart saw Elliott go backwards a bit to 19th before moving forward again. Running 17th when the caution came out on lap 35, Elliott pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments and came out of the pits in 12th. The 2020 champion passed his teammate Kyle Larson for 11th on lap 47. On the lap 63 caution, Elliott was running ninth. On lap 65, he pitted for four tires and fuel before restarting ninth (as three cars stayed out under caution). Fresh tires saw Elliott jump up to third two laps after the lap 68 restart, which is where he would finish the stage.
Stage two: During the stage break, Elliott pitted for four tires and fuel to gain two spots on pit road and to hold the lead. However, a penalty for equipment interference sent him to the rear and he restarted 30th. Within three laps, he was back in the top 20. On lap 97, Elliott was back in the top 15. Elliott inherited the lead on lap 125 during green-flag stops and held it as the caution came out on lap 127. The Cup Series points leader pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment on lap 134 and would restart eighth on lap 137. Elliott and rookie Austin Cindric had some close-quarters racing for a top-six position. He would finish the stage in fifth.
Final stage: The Dawsonville, Georgia, native pitted under the stage break for four tires and fuel to come out sixth. On lap 178, Elliott was back in the top five with a pass on Cindric. While running sixth, Elliott had a left rear tire go down and went for a wild spin off of turn three to bring out the yellow on lap 197. The No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro was stuck in the grass following his spin and would lose three laps and be scored 31st for the lap 202 restart. The damage would hinder the rest of Elliott’s race and he would finish the afternoon in 29th.