Earlier today, Noah Gragson seized victory at the Darlington Raceway. However, the race finish was a pretty wild one, especially the last moment involving Kyle Larson and Sheldon Creed. At the time, Creed was leading with five laps remaining, and Gragson was hunting him down, with Larson in third.
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On the next lap, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion snuck into 2nd place ahead of the JR Motorsports driver. From there, it became a game of cat and mouse between Creed and Larson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver hung around the outside and pretty much hugged the outside wall to get closer to the #2 driver.
What happened to Kyle Larson in those final laps?
With two laps remaining, Larson attempted another onslaught, but Creed fended him off. By then, Noah Gragson had caught up to the back of the leading duo.
Finally, on the white flag lap, Kyle Larson made his move for the race lead, but made contact with Sheldon Creed. Unfortunately, that lost them some momentum, and Gragson was there to pick up the pieces.
The JR Motorsports driver immediately dove down the inside of both cars and snatched the lead. To make matters worse for Creed and Larson, they ground against the wall and the latter dropped to 5th. At least Sheldon Creed was able to salvage second place behind Gragson, with AJ Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier in 3rd and 4th.
NASCAR Fans react to the final showdown between Kyle Larson, Noah Gragson, and Sheldon Creed
Suffice to say, many fans were thrilled to see such an exciting finish.
They should had made this the cup car and just added power because this still the best racing in nascar right now
— Tristan Bass (@TbassTristan) September 4, 2022
Can’t see this type of action in F1.
— Brent Glaze (@Brentos3) September 4, 2022
That was a great finish
— Mark Raynor (@MarkRay93676102) September 4, 2022
it had to finish great, the rest of the race was caution laps. 😡
— keonni65 🇨🇦🎶🏁🏈🥅🏒 (@keonni65) September 4, 2022
@melaniehalliden probably the best finish this year…
— Gloria (@arule83) September 4, 2022
Kyle Larson pass someone without trashing a car challenge (impossible)
— Coffee Spots 🇺🇸 (@Coffee_Spots2) September 4, 2022
Great finish!
— Colleen Wanglund (@SweetColleen) September 4, 2022
WATCH THIS STORY: From Kyle Larson to Denny Hamlin : Chase Elliott’s Most Heated Moments
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Is that Chastain in the 17? 😳
— MStuart2 (@MStuart3462) September 4, 2022
In fact, many called it the ‘best racing in NASCAR’ and a few even took a dig at Formula One. However, some did confess that most of the race was filled with caution laps, so the end of the race made up for it.
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Some even joked that Larson could not make a move without putting someone in the wall, and others compared him to Ross Chastain.