Kyle Larson wins at Texas; will race for championship
FORT WORTH — For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Kyle Larson will be a Championship 4 competitor.
Leading on three occasions for 257 laps in the Autotrader EchoPark 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday, Larson earned his eighth win of 2021 and
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the first Round of 8 driver to clinch a championship berth.
“We get to go race for a championship in a few weeks, this is crazy,” Larson said. “I don’t think we’re going to lose focus on Kansas or Martinsville, but I definitely think we can shift a little bit more to our Phoenix car and I really look forward to that.”
Larson’s teammate William Byron finished second, leading three times for 55 laps.
Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Top-5 finishers.
THROUGH THE FIELD
Playoff drivers Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott finished sixth and seventh respectively.
Defending race winner and playoff contender Kyle Busch led 20 laps, ultimately finishing eighth.
Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez rounded out the Top-10 finishers.
Denny Hamlin finished in 11th.
Chase Briscoe was the highest finishing rookie in 15th.
NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor David Starr finished 23rd, a career-high in the Cup Series.
Playoff drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano fell out of the race, respectively finishing 25h and 30th.
OUTLOOK
The next race in the Round of 8 is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 24 at Kansas Speedway.
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.