Kyle Larson finally conquered Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. – For the past 11 years, Kyle Larson fought tenaciously to overcome the 0.526-mile concrete and asphalt arena known as Martinsville Speedway.
In 16 prior starts, Larson has crashed, fallen out of two races due to engine issues, or has admittedly been an afterthought at one of NASCAR’s charter tracks. On the occasions that Larson has shined, it was not without some kind of incredible effort and strategy calls from the pits.
On Sunday afternoon, Larson executed on his end. Meanwhile, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro team welcomed back a familiar face and voice atop their pit box in crew chief Cliff Daniels.
Starting 19th in the NOCO 400, Larson quickly picked off positions, gaining 10 spots to place ninth in Stage 1. However, changing track conditions and a long green flag run dropped the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California native to a 10th place result in Stage 2.
A Lap 302 caution for Anthony Alfredo’s loose right rear tire changed the complexity of the race as it occurred during a round of green flag pit stops. Most of the race’s primary contenders found themselves trapped a lap behind those who stayed out and the few who rejoined the lead lap running order.
Fortune was on Larson’s side as he pitted during the green flag pit stop sequence and rejoined the lead lap fray before the caution for Alfredo’s loose tire. Moving from 11th to second on the Lap 311 restart, suddenly, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion was in the mix for the victory.
On Lap 342, JJ Yeley brought out the race’s final caution when he crashed in Turn 3. This prompted multiple pit strategy calls in terms of maximizing track position versus fresh Goodyear tires and fuel.
Logano found himself climbing from 32nd to a possible victory in the 400-lap race at Martinsville. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
Daniels made the call for fresh right side tires and fuel only, a somewhat risky call given the multitudes of drivers who opted for four fresh tires and fuel for the 44-lap dash to the finish. Moreover, four drivers, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., stayed out to optimize their track position for a sprint to the checkered flag.
Wasting little time on the Lap 355 restart, Larson worked his way from fifth to second and caught Logano’s No. 22 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang on Lap 367.
At first, Larson sized up Logano in terms of making a clean but decisive pass for the win. After a few acustommary short track taps, Larson and Logano were wheel-to-wheel for three laps.
Both drivers, the two most recent Cup champions, engaged in a friendly but tenacious scrap for the victory, trading paint but cutting each other some slack. In contrast to recent battles for the victory in the past two to three years, Logano and Larson’s battle was likened to the decisive moments of the 2003 Virginia 500.
With 29 laps remaining, Larson finally drew a bead on Logano before making the power move off Turn 2 for a clean, race winning pass.
From there on, Larson and Daniels finally checked off an elusive dream of winning at the paperclip.
Moreover, it was another emotional victory for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville. For the past 19 years, the team pays tribute to the 10 lives lost on Oct. 24, 2004, pointing their fingers to the sky after celebrating a win.
Alongside the commemoration of the fallen Hendrick family members in John, Kimberly, Jennifer and Ricky, the team continues to remember Randy Dorton, their chief engine builder, Jeff Turner, their general manager, Joe Jackson, an executive with DuPont, Scott Lathram, a pilot for Tony Stewart, and Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison, the pilots of the plane.
Larson soaked in the moment while returning the team’s charter car, the No. 5 ride, back to Martinsville’s victory lane for the first time since Geoff Bodine’s win on Apr. 29, 1984.
Hamlin and Larson went wheel-to-wheel batling for second inside the final 50 laps of the NOCO 400. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
“I think when you can accomplish something that you don’t see possible, when you do accomplish it, it moves up the ladder pretty high,” Larson said. “This is an extremely special win for me. I’ve worked very hard to get better here. I feel like every time there’s a test available, I get put on that list to test here because I struggle. We want to get better.
“I’ve got tons of laps around here, and not many top tens. Honestly, (I’ve got) probably more races where I have finished a lap down than on the lead lap. So it’s been difficult.”
As Larson savored the rewards of a sentimental Martinsville triumph, Logano, who placed runner-up, understood the tall order of fending off his challenger on older tires. Still, it was a bit of a win considering his results of 32nd and 26th in Stages 1 and 2.
“He caught me so quick and there was still 25-30 to go and I was like, ‘Aw, geez. I don’t have a chance here, but I’ll make it wide for awhile,’” Logano said. “I knew he was gonna have to get physical, which is fine.
“That’s Martinsville racing. He should. I tried to play defense as best as I could and eventually he got underneath me.”
Logano walked away from the concrete and asphalt track with a scrappy second place finish. On the other hand, Denny Hamlin, who rounded out the podium finishers, bemoaned the opportunity to be more on the offense toward the end of the race.
“I just needed to stay in the lead,” Hamlin said. “It’s the biggest thing – just like Richmond. When you get the lead, you have to stay there. Just had unfortunate timing of that caution in the green flag pit stop cycle. We pitted, which put us towards the end of the lead lap cars.
“Cars that I was just lapping 10 laps prior – I couldn’t pass them. It is Next Gen racing with these tires and this aero package –there is no passing. You saw the 41 (Ryan Preece) dominate the race, and then he got caught and went to the back and that was it. That’s just what we’ve got.”
Larson saluted the fans with a nearly lap long, clockwise burnout celebration. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
On Sunday afternoon, Larson made good on a pre-race goal to win at the paperclip shaped track. After a long burnout around Martinsville in clockwise fashion, the typically mild mannered racer smiled when he considered the significance of his 21st career Cup win.
“When you can win at a place like this, it is definitely up there,” Larson said. “I was teared up the whole last lap. I heard Cliff was teared up too. So that feels really, really special because he is so strong and, like, emotionally strong. To hear that means a lot.
“This win here today means a lot for everybody and, too, Hendrick Motorsports as well with everything that they’ve — everything that this kind of racetrack and trip means to them.”
Stage 1 Top 10 Finishers
Preece-Almirola-Reddick-Suárez-Briscoe/Harvick-Wallace-Hamlin-Larson-Byron
Stage 2 Top 10 Finishers
Harvick-Briscoe-Hamlin-Reddick-Keselowski/Chastain-Gilliland-Suárez-Almirola-Larson
NOCO 400 Top 10 Finishers at Martinsville
Larson-Logano-Truex Jr.-Hamlin-Briscoe/Almirola-Blaney-Stenhouse Jr.-Wallace-Elliott
Editor’s Notes
Seth Eggert of Kickin’ The Tires contributed to this article directly on-site from Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.
