NASCAR

Larson continues to break records in his quest for NASCAR Cup glory

Fraser Masefield
25 Oct 2021
3 min read

By the very nature of the NASCAR Cup Series, it would be foolish to take anything for granted. There are 43 cars on the grid, hustling for position, jostling and jousting, trying to keep free of the inevitable accidents and incident and having the team crew to back them up.

On the face of it, it would appear an absolute lottery to separate one, if not many drivers piloting these beasts of machines over 200 laps of racing. Yet, like in any sport, the cream of the crop invariably rises to the top. Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is a case in point.

By recording his ninth win of the season and third in a row at Kansas Speedway, the Californian driver is the first to complete such a hat-trick since Dale Earnhardt in 1987. It also marks Hendrick Motorsports’ seventh 1-2 result this year, tying their own organization record from 2009 and Joe Gibbs Racing (2019) for the second-most top-two finishes in a single season.

“I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick),” Larson is quoted on the team’s official website. “I didn’t ever get to meet Ricky (Hendrick) or the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race, no doubt. It’s crazy how it kind of all worked out there for me to win.

“I know they were all looking down and helping me out there with all the restarts and stuff after getting into the wall. Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I’m glad I could get it done.”

Making it an even better day for the dominant team of the season was Chase Elliott’s second place finish, which means he now sits in second place in the playoff standings, the Georgia native holding his position for the final 14 laps.

“Our entire NAPA Chevrolet team did a great job today and I felt like we had something for Kyle there,” Elliott said. “It’s so hard to get up to him when you are running the fence like that. It’s just tough because every few feet you get closer, the harder it gets.

“It was a lot of fun. I’m really proud of the way we ran (Sunday). I feel like it was a really nice step in the right direction.”

 

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Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.

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