Kyle Larson scores special wins for Hendrick Motorsports at Bristol

BRISTOL, TENN. — An angel guided Kyle Larson to two special wins for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kyle Larson blistered the field two days in a row — first on Saturday for 276 of 300 laps in the Sci-Aps 300 and again on Sunday for 411 of 500 laps in the Food City 500.

Riding with Larson was Jon Edwards, the beloved PR guru who told the tale of Larson’s 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship. They fended off all challengers who dared to challenge both days.

On Saturday, Justin Allgaier jumped in front of Kyle Larson on a restart that he recovered from with a bump that put Larson back in the lead for good.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT BRISTOL TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 300): Kyle Larson, Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, Ryan Sieg, Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson

On Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman led the first 39 laps and ran second to Larson before blowing an engine and finishing 37th.

Ryan Blaney was the only other multi-lap leader of the race. In the final stage, Blaney waited for a caution for 48 laps before conceding to Larson.

In the closing laps, Denny Hamlin closed multiple times when Larson was in lap traffic but ultimately settled for second.

NASCAR CUP SERIES AT BRISTOL TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 500): Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon.

Altogether, between the Xfinity and Cup races, there were four cautions for cause. The races balanced the cautions out by stage.

Two cautions fell in the first stage of the Xfinity race, including a caution for a vicious crash involving Sheldon Creed and Brennan Poole. That let Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg stay out to go 1-2 in the stage over Larson and others.

XFINITY AT BRISTOL STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 85): Sam Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Kyle Larson, Sammy Smith, Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, Nick Sanchez, Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones.

In contrast, the first stage of the Cup race went caution-free for the first time ever at Bristol in the stage era (dating back to 2017). 125 laps green was also the longest opening green-flag run for a Cup race at Bristol since August 2007 when that race started with a 126-lap green-flag run.

CUP AT BRISTOL STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 125): Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Justin Haley, Alex Bowman, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger.

While the Xfinity race went caution-free in stage two, the Cup race saw its only caution for cause. On lap 178, Shane van Gisbergen and Cody Ware spun.

The result was the same in each race’s stage two — Larson led every lap and claimed the stage win.

XFINITY AT BRISTOL STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 170): Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier. Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil, Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Corey Heim, William Sawalich, Sam Mayer.

CUP AT BRISTOL STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 250): Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick.

The final stage of the Xfinity race saw a caution for a multi-car wreck while the final stage of the Cup race went caution-free. Each race saw their own challengers, to no avail.  Larson took home the checkered flag two days in a row.

While Larson and the NASCAR Cup Series is off for Easter weekend while, next Saturday, the Xfinity Series will head to Rockingham Speedway for the first time in 21 years.