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Kyle Larson was ready to take the series of unique winners in the NASCAR Cup Series this season Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His number 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led a significant portion of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 and his second victory in three weeks seemed within sight.
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Larson’s dominant day in the final rounds unraveled as Ryan Blaney moved past him to lead the final nine laps on the 1.54-mile course in Georgia, bringing the 2021 winners’ score to a half-dozen. Larson left with his third top-five final in the last four cup series matches, a result that disappointed him, but in his first year with the no. 5-group still tried to see the shiny side.
“I don’t know, I think he just got a lot better there in the last stage, and that changed my flow of the race a little bit,” Larson said. ‘I can get such a big lead and then I can take care of my stuff and let the bottom (groove) run, where it might be slower, but I can take care of my tires. He was there quickly, and I just wanted to keep the gap I had, so I had to run in the faster part of the racetrack and just use up my stuff. And then, he was just a lot better when I was late in the run. Hate to lead many laps and lose, but we had a very good car that brought us to the track. ‘
Larson swept both innings, and although he lost the lead over Blaney on a pit stop exchange early in Phase 3, he quickly regained first place and rebuilt his margin in the rest of the field.
The regime began to stumble when Blaney closed again. Larson complained about his team communication that Joey Logano, a teammate of Blaney with Team Penske, initially presented himself during Blaney’s last pursuit. 5-man crew member Cliff Daniels tried to boost Larson’s confidence by saying he could give him back, but the 28-year-old driver had yet to take on a challenge and finished 2,083 seconds behind the checkered flag.
“I mean, it’s hard to say. I would definitely have had a better chance if I had been through Logano, ‘said Larson. “But yes, I mean, it was just difficult. My tires were pretty much gone at that point. I slip around. I just did not get through the traffic well in the end. ”
Larson’s most recent start in Atlanta – February 2019 – also ends with sadness. He reached a race high of 142 laps, but he finished 12th after a highway penalty on the highway. Larson was also the runner-up in Atlanta in 2017, where he has four top-10 finishes but does not have a win.
Nevertheless, Larson showed comfort in the speed and performance of the team, and he expressed the hope that more victories – such as his victory on March 7 in Las Vegas – would follow.
‘Yes, I mean, I would like to win today to gain momentum. But yes, I mean, we had the fastest car most weekends, ”said Larson. “If we can continue to evolve and keep getting better, yes, I mean, we can do good things. Our well staff was really good. Our car was really fast. I feel like I did a pretty good job mostly.
‘With all the Cliff and all the guys making good decisions on the box office, we can definitely go there and keep arguing. If we can fight as much as we are, yes, I mean, we can win a lot of races. ”