Is Kyle Larson rewriting the script of his title-winning run in 2021? Last time around, when the Hendrick Motorsports star won the race at Charlotte Roval, he went on to clinch his first Cup Series championship. And now that he’s back into victory lane with his first Roval win in the Next Gen era. His sixth of the 2024 season.

Coming into the Roval race, Larson wasn’t under the pressure to collect points to secure his advance in the Round of 8. With a buffer of 52 points, he certainly knew that he was in the position to push for victory, and that is exactly what he did.

Kyle Larson made the most of his point buffer

It feels like Larson is on a redemption run or trying to write his wrong from this season. The first one came at the Brickyard 400 after he failed to deliver on his Indy 500 debut. And now he’s gone on to do it at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. While it was half oval and half road course, there’s no denying the fact that the driver of the #5 HMS Chevy is the class of the field as the playoffs head into the Round of 8.

“Really, it’s the first time in my playoffs career I’ve not been like close to the cut line. So it was good to have a kinda stress-free weekend. I think it’s the first time I’ve been here without crashing. So good weekend, thanks to Hendrick Cars.com; obviously we’re here at Hendrick’s home and got so many people here from there, so gonna be fun to celebrate with them.” Kyle Larson said this to NBC after winning the race.

Last time around, Larson won at Bristol in the fall race; he was joined by his son Owen in celebrating the win. Ever since Owen had a ride with his dad doing laps around the racetrack, Larson’s daughter, Audrey, wanted to experience a similar feeling. Which was fulfilled by the HMS star after snagging his second Roval win.

“I mean, it’s great to have Audrey here, but the reason why we’re here is Owen was off racing this weekend at Oklahoma with Katelyn, and Audrey had a baseball game yesterday. So we had to stay here for that, but it’s always fun to hang out with your kids and getting these special moments. I know she was jealous to see Owen at Bristol and glad to have this moment with her,” the HMS driver added.

While Hendrick Motorsports added a home win to their name, Joey Logano from Team Penske Camp failed to make the cut for the next round. The 2-time champion was up against 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick. Who raced his way up front to grab enough points and keep his championship hopes alive?

Logano wasn’t able to bounce after the big one at Talladega

Trending

How Late NASCAR Legend Was Forced to “Sell Everything” After Losing $10,000 to Mafia

Historic NASCAR Track Shutting Its Door After Final Run Has Racing Community Heartbroken

Tony Stewart’s Business Partner Sells Off Iconic ‘Mini Eldora’ Racetrack

HMS Legend’s Demise Has Emotional Jeff Gordon Echoing Rick Hendrick’s Humble Admission

“This Deserves Prison Time” – Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Becomes the Joke as Fans Tear Into Disastrous Beer Pouring Skills

The #22 team started the playoffs with a bang, winning the Atlanta race and securing their advance to Round of 12. However, a 14th finish at Kansas and a DNF at Talladega saw him on the wrong side of the playoff bubble coming into the Roval weekend. Logano certainly gave it his all, but he was unable to maintain his track position late in the race, while Tyler Reddick started making moves.

At the end of the day, Logano ended the race inside the top 10, but still, it wasn’t enough to see him through to the next round. “I mean, we fought hard for sure, and I think Paul and the guys did a good job of executing the strategy of what we needed to do today. Just didn’t get quite enough there at the end; fell off a little bit too much that last run. Honestly, the 45 and Tyler and those guys did a good job driving up through the field and scored more points. It’s hard not to think about Richmond a little bit right now.” The Penske driver said to NBC.

Kyle Larson, with this win, is leading the charge of the playoff standings with a buffer of 33 points. What’s more worrying for Larson’s rival is that the next race is at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Which has been his stomping ground.