The first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is finally over. Two former champion drivers fell out of the playoffs after the Bass Pro Shops Night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. And two others got eliminated from the playoff rumble. Joey Logano fell out of contention after crashing early in Stage 3. Meanwhile, a five-lap down finish at P29 chucked Kevin Harvick out of the round of 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. And Michael McDowell missed their tickets to the next round as well. However, the villain arc that Denny Hamlin has embraced since Pocono seems to still work its effects.

This 42-year-old man knows that he has perhaps six or seven years more in the driving game. He has decided to win as many times as he can before he becomes a full-time team owner. And with his 51st win at Bristol, he proved he is dead serious about his intentions. But winning for him was difficult, as his famed golf buddy posed a strong competition for the number 11 JGR driver.

Once you see Kyle Larson in the rearview mirror, you can never rest easy

With the points reset for the second round, Denny Hamlin now sits third in the driver standings. He is below Hendrick Motorsports icon William Byron and teammate Martin Truex Jr. Hamlin had the winning speed in all three races of the Round of 16. But it was only on Saturday night that he could capitalize on his Toyota Camry and hold off Kyle Larson to win his third victory at the prestigious short track.

Larson won the opening race at Darlington and since then had finishes of fourth and second at Kansas and Bristol. On the other hand, Hamlin suffered from a loose wheel at Darlington and finished second and first at Kansas and Bristol. The rivalry between these two drivers is just off the charts. And so is the rivalry between Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Denny Hamlin had confessed how he got distracted after seeing Kyle Larson laying back in his front mirror on the last overtime restart at Kansas. And in Bristol, the crew chief for Denny Hamlin revealed how Kyle Larson, being right behind the 23XI Racing owner, could have jeopardized the race for them.

Chris Gabehart said, “I’ve told all of you how I feel about Larson and his talent. We had such a lead that we kind of got a little conservative behind the 8, some other car there. Kind of nowhere to go for a little bit. Here comes Larson like a prize fighter off the mat. He’s right back on our bumper, giving us all we want one more time.”

They have had their run-ins lately. Still, Chris Gabehart expressed how classy the HMS icon was at his game. Indeed, fans flock around the ovals of NASCAR to witness such head-to-head contention. And the battle between these two pioneer Cup Series teams is just something that no NASCAR would want to miss.

“I think the world of Kyle Larson and his team and I’m glad we were able to beat him today,” added Gabehart.

Watch this story: A Video of Denny Hamlin Confronting a Bitter Chase Elliott Fan Resurfaces After the Coca-Cola 600 Drama

On the other hand, Kyle Larson too seemed to ‘think the world‘ of Denny Hamlin. Despite having great speed, his Valvoline Chevy was just not able to beat Denny Hamlin’s Toyota Camry. Moments after the race, Larson shed light on what went wrong for him.

Kyle Larson illuminated why he could not beat Denny Hamlin

Trending

“My Body Needed Time”: Tony Stewart’s Wife, Leah, Discloses Her Roadblocks to Motherhood Amid Racing Dilemma

Reality Struck Shane van Gisbergen Has His Playoffs Chances Cut Short Even Before His Full Time Debut in 2025

Joe Gibbs Racing Potentially Blocking Truck Series Phenom on Denny Hamlin’s Radar After On-Track Bad Blood

“There Was No Money”- Kyle Busch Reveals Mechanic Father’s $32K Sacrifice to Boost Kurt Busch’s Career

NASCAR Insider Urges Rick Hendrick to Rope In ‘Next Kyle Larson’ After $100,000 Win

126.353 miles per hour. That was the speed that Kyle Larson flaunted at practice. The 2021 Cup Series champion started 36th in the field but steadily picked up pace, moving up to 8th at the end of stage 1. Larson restarted the second stage at place 3 and grasped the lead in lap 179. However, despite starting third again in the ultimate stage, Larson sat second throughout the last 138 laps trying to chase down race winner Denny Hamlin.

Despite suffering from a pit road penalty on lap 75 for ‘running over equipment ‘, Larson made a tremendous rebound to finish as the runner-up. Nevertheless, he was all praises for his arch-rival, Denny Hamlin.

“Denny was just really good. His car was really good, and he did a really good job through traffic,” he said, “I thought maybe his balance was going away, he got there for a minute…I was able to get closer and then he cleared a couple guys and took off from there.”

So what actually kept him from winning the race? Kyle Larson felt like he had run as fast as he could but said, “…just didn’t have the pace that he (Denny) did.”

Read more: Denny Hamlin Gets Philosophical With a 9-Worded Witty Comment About His Haters