The Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team is continuing the pattern. Ever since Kyle Larson started the playoffs, he messed up in the first two races of every round, only to emerge as the dominant winner in the third. His Round of 8 fortune has played out similarly so far – after a pit stop massacre in Las Vegas, Larson faced multiple issues in Homestead. He almost overcame them until the last issue set in on lap 255.

Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon came in Larson’s desperate bid for the victory. In the process, Tyler Reddick, who almost lost hope earlier, vaulted to the front. Like the regular season championship, the 23XI Racing driver bested his HMS rival at Homestead. Yet Kyle Larson took a balanced approach to his dilemma.

Kyle Larson gives credit to himself

Problems plagued Rick Hendrick’s ‘golden boy’ right from the beginning. Soon after the Straight Talk Wireless 400 race was flagged off, he got into a three-wide battle with Reddick and Christopher Bell. Then on lap 47, Kyle Larson hit the wall off Turn 2 and got a cut tire. This dropped him to 34th place – but Larson sliced up the gap and was inside the top 10 by lap 181. He began to cozy up to the possibility of a podium finish as he engaged in a feisty battle with Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. But then an aggressive three-wide move with Austin Dillon’s lapped car dashed his hopes.

Kyle Larson tapped Blaney’s quarter panel and spun out with 6 laps to go. The spin caused a roof flap and a diffuser flap to deploy – and Larson’s crew had to get under the car to fix those flaps. So that cost him six spots on the racetrack. In a post-race interview, a dejected Larson expanded on his misfortune and cited the desperation at this time of the season.

“I don’t know…when the win’s in front of you, and you see a guy like the 12, who was just below the cutline, get a win or the 11, the 3rd, the 9…Like, all the guys who are below the cutline are having great days. When the win’s in front of you, I don’t think any of us – Bell or William – would have done anything different. You’re going for the win to lock yourself into Phoenix.”

Both Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson were battling for a berth in the Championship 4. Blaney got the upper hand and finished second – despite that, Larson patted himself on the back. After all, making your way from 34th to the front row is no mean feat. “Yeah, I’ve been disappointed in other races a lot more than what I am right now. Honestly, I’m really proud of even having a shot. There’s nobody else that would have been able to do that. So I’m proud of that, just wish it turned out a little different.”

Although Austin Dillon was involved, Kyle Larson shaved off blame from his shoulders.

Larson avoids pointing fingers

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We did get a hint of Larson underlining Ryan Blaney’s desperate moves as a cause. However, even Richard Childress’s grandson was involved in the incident. Both Blaney and Larson were trying to get around Austin Dillon’s No. 3 car, which did not provide much leeway. Earlier this year, Dillon incurred NASCAR’s wrath at Richmond Raceway. In the final chaotic laps, he had dumped both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, putting them in the wall to race to the checkered flag. Although he could retain his race victory, officials stripped him of his playoff eligibility along with slapping a heft penalty. Despite his aggression history, Kyle Larson chose not to blame him.

After all, Austin Dillon appeared to be minding his own business at Homestead. Larson acquitted him of any wrongdoing, albeit adding that a little flexibility could have helped. “Austin did nothing wrong. I was just hoping that he would see me coming as the No. 12 got to his inside, and maybe he’d run a lane off the wall just to give me some clean air. He continued to run his line. I had a little bit of a hole, and I was trying to shoot the gap to get in front of the No. 3 and get to the wall quickly to either hopefully stay on the outside of the No. 12 or build a run to have a shot at him in [Turns] One and Two. But yeah, it just didn’t work out.”

Evidently, Kyle Larson is pacing himself for the final Round of 8 race, which can make or break his championship fortunes. Let us wait and see how our HMS hero performs.