Kyle Larson, who wasn’t racing a year ago due to a suspension, capped a magical comeback season with his 10th win of the year and his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Larson, who led the most laps in Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway, had fallen out of lead late but a caution for a broken brake rotor on the track on Lap 283 of 312 sent all the lead-lap cars down pit road for new tires.
Larson, who had won the pole on Saturday and had the first pit stall, just edged Denny Hamlin off pit road – picking up three spots and moving into the lead when the race restarted on Lap 289.
For the final 23 laps, Larson deftly held off a determined Martin Truex Jr. and took the checkered flag by 0.398 seconds to win his career-best 10th win of the 2021 season.
“I can’t – I cannot believe it. I didn’t even think I’d be racing a Cup car a year and a half ago,” Larson said. “To win a championship is crazy. I’ve got to say first off thank you so much to Rick Hendrick, Hendrickcars.com, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR, every single one of my supporters in the stands, watching at home, my family. I’ve got so many of my friends and family here.
“There were so many points in this race where I did not think we were going to win. Without my pit crew on that last stop, we would not be standing right here. They are the true winners of this race. They are true champions.
“I’m just blessed to be a part of this group. Every single man or person, man, and woman at Hendrick Motorsports, this win is for all of us, and every one of you. This is unbelievable. I’m speechless.”
Larson, 28, was indefinitely suspended from NASCAR and fired from Chip Ganassi Racing in March 2020 for using a racial slur over the radio during a public iRacing event.
He sat out the remainder of the 2020 season, with a return to NASCAR never a certainty. After fulfilling the requirements by NASCAR to lift his suspension, Hendrick Motorsports opted to add Larson to its four-driver Cup team for the 2021 season.
Larson and his No. 5 Chevrolet team quickly showed they would be a factor for the championship this season, winning the season’s fourth race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
He won the regular-season title and four races in the playoffs that helped him advance to the Championship 4 and a chance Sunday to win his first NASCAR title.
Larson said as he drove around the track after taking the checkered flag, he had tears welling in his eyes.
“The crowd was cheering loud, and it was just a different atmosphere than I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “This event was crazy. This format is wild. I’m glad we were able to get it done.
“A big shout-out to my parents for getting me involved in racing, my dad for everything he did, building my go-karts when I was young to get me playing around, my mom for videotaping every lap I ever raced and giving me something I could look at and study and get better.
“Gosh, so cool, I cannot believe it.”
Hamlin finished third in the race and the championship standings, Ryan Blaney was fourth and 2020 champion Chase Elliott finished fifth and fourth in the final series standings.
Rounding out the top-10 in the race were Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, and Brad Keselowski.
Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Larson the first off pit road.
When the race resumed on Lap 198, Larson was followed by Elliott, Hamlin, Truex, and Kyle Busch.
With 85 laps remaining in the race, Larson led by about a second over Elliott, followed by Hamlin, Truex, and Harvick.
On Lap 236, Elliott was able to close to Larson’s rear bumper, dropped to his inside, and came away with the lead again.
On Lap 244, Hamlin got around Larson to take over the runner-up spot behind Elliott.
Just as Truex hit pit road to kick off a round of green-flag pit stops, Anthony Alfredo wrecked hard off Turn 2 following a tire failure to bring out a caution.
The remaining cars elected to pit with Hamlin on the first off pit road. When the race returned to green on Lap 255, Truex inherited the lead by staying out. He was followed by Blaney, Hamlin, Elliott, Logano, and Larson.
With 40 laps to go, Truex maintained about a 1-second lead over Hamlin as Elliott remained in third.
David Starr dropped a brake rotor on the track in Turn 3 which forced NASCAR to throw caution for debris. The lead-lap cars all elected to pit with Larson on the first off pit road.
-by AmaanAttar
Source: Motorsports.com
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