Kyle Larson was in a league of his own, competing in the playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway. After a DNF finish at Atlanta and below-par showings at Watkins Glen, Larson needed a big result in the final race of the Round of 16, and boy, did he deliver. Not only did he bag his fifth win of the season, but he swept the stage wins as well.

Wait, that’s not it; 462 laps led was the most ever by a Hendrick Motorsports driver. Larson is only second to the great Cale Yarborough, who holds the record for most laps led (496) during the Bristol race in 1977. Total dominance by the driver; it was as if he could not make a bad turn throughout the whole race. But despite being the class of the field, Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, was ready to tackle anything that came their way.

Kyle Larson and his crew came prepared for the Bristol challenge

There were a lot of unknowns heading into the Bristol weekend. One of the biggest concerns was how the tires were going to react with the racetrack. Given how chaotic the spring race was, the teams had to be on their toes to deal with those curveballs. Fortunately, the tires didn’t dictate the outcome of the race, and starting on the front row, Larson kept his composure and executed the race really well.

Although it looked like a clean and chaos-free race, Cliff Daniels was aware of how a single caution could turn the tide of the race. “Overall, a really intense race for us. Because behind the scenes, we’re trying to understand if cautions come out how that’s gonna affect your tires and when you need to pit, when you’re gonna need fuel. I’m sure for the fans they maybe wanted to see more yellows, but from our perspective, it was still a pretty intense race.”

Historically, Bristol has been Kyle Larson’s stomping ground. In his last five starts at the racetrack, he finished inside the top 5, including two race wins (excluding the dirt races). Therefore, Daniels knew his driver would turn up for the race. “The guys here executed a really good weekend. Qualifying is important, got to qualify up front, and we kept our car up front. It is so fun to watch Kyle Larson at a track like this because it suits him so well. He’s so good at it; proud of him, proud of the team, very thankful,” Daniels added.

Larson lost the points buffer he had made in the regular season in the first two playoff races. But a triumphant win last Sunday saw him regain the buffer. He now sits at the top of the leaderboards with a 15-point gap between him and Christopher Bell. And looking at the upcoming races, he just might stretch his lead even more.

Kansas Speedway just might allow Larson to lock himself in the semi-finals

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One win and you’re in is still the easiest way to advance further in the playoffs. Although a win came a little late for the #5 team, they will look to settle the business early at Kansas for the next round. Mile-and-a-half racetracks have been Larson’s favorite, Kansas Speedway in particular has been his strong suit.

In his last five starts at the venue, the HMS star has two runner-up finishes and a win to his name. In the Next-Gen era, he’s never finished outside of the top 10 at the racetrack. 1.5-mile and 1.3-mile racing surfaces, in particular, are where the driver has shined in 2024. Out of five wins, two have come at mile-and-a-half tracks (Kansas and Las Vegas). Moreover, he had top 5 runs at Dover, New Hampshire, and Darlington—again, tracks with similar configurations and lengths.

Pumped from his win at Bristol, Larson will be in his favorite setting this weekend at Kansas. And if he notches up his sixth win of the season, it certainly won’t come as a surprise given his track record and statistics.