Kyle Larson scored a sixth place result following Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. — A terrific qualifying effort by Kyle Larson on Saturday afternoon was backed up by a respectable result on Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.
The box score shows Larson having a consistent afternoon, starting fifth and being a late race factor for the Xfinity 500. However, the path for Larson’s 17th top 10 finish this year was not so straightforward.
After starting fifth, Larson slipped outside of the top 10, placing 11th in Stage 1. Matters did not get any easier due to a myriad of pit strategies commonplace with racing at Martinsville, placing the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion deep in the field and outside of the top 20.
Eventually, Larson placed 17th in Stage 2, a rare moment in which the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had snake eyes with stage points in the Playoffs. Then again, because of his Las Vegas Motor Speedway victory two weeks ago, he was locked into the Championship 4 battle at Phoenix Raceway.
Before Stage 3 was underway, Larson elected to stay out to take advantage of track position. This decision seemed to pay off as he restarted in sixth, keeping decent pace with the top 10 despite his car being too tight in the center of the corners.
Dropping to ninth on Lap 300, Larson pitted on Lap 304 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, dropping to 19th position for the ensuing restart. Not making much progress, Larson’s race improved greatly during a caution period on Lap 328.
Crew chief Cliff Daniels and the No. 5 team opted for fuel only for their final pit stop of the day. Restarting in sixth position, Larson ran as high as fifth on Lap 420 before dropping to eighth on Lap 456.
Things improved for Larson and his No. 5 team with 10 laps remaining as he drove up to sixth which is where he finished. All things considered, the Elk Grove, California native tipped his cap to his team although he observed how his car was not up to par.
“I was glad we weren’t fighting for points, just because our car wasn’t that good so that would have been difficult to advance,” Larson said. “But our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team did the best we could out of the day.
“My team made some good strategy calls there in the final stage to get some track position and come away with the best finish possible.”
It may have been a struggle for Kyle Larson at Martinsville, but a sixth place result is hardly a bad day at the track. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
A sixth place result continued Larson’s consistent, quiet success at Martinsville with a runner-up last year and his victory at the paperclip shaped track six months ago. Unlike most Martinsville races, fuel mileage was a bit of a late race story for the frontrunners inside the final 200 laps.
“We were on the same plan as the guys in front of us,” he said. “I had a gap early on in that run, so I tried to save as much as I could. It sounded like we were going to make it, so from then on, I pushed and we made it. Just tried to do what I could early on while the grip was in the tires and I had a gap behind me.
“But all-in-all, it was a great day for our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team, as a whole, with the strategy, pit stops and all that. Excited to get to Phoenix.”
In less than a week, Larson will race for his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship in three years. Now, the battle begins as he will duke it out against Ryan Blaney, Sunday’s winner at Martinsville, Christopher Bell, the Homestead-Miami and Bristol Dirt winner, and William Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate who won six races this year.
Despite his experience and success in his only Championship 4 appearance to date until this weekend, he is not underselling the possibility of it being a tough scrap against his three worthy adversaries.
“Yeah, I’m excited to get there,” Larson said. “I know it’s going to be a tough battle. Ryan, whatever their team has found over the last two-and-a-half months, they’ve done a really good job and they’ve been probably the best team here lately.
“They will be really tough to beat, as well as Christopher and William. So yeah, it’s going to be fun.”
