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