Kyle Larson’s Patience Pays Dividends as He Fends off Potential Threats to Claim Hometown Victory

A few weeks ago, it seemed like Lady Luck had turned on Kyle Larson. From missing out on his Double attempt to the anticipation of a playoff waiver, the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver has truly had his patience tested. That being said, fortune favors the bold and Larson’s resilience seems to have paid dividends.

On Tuesday, NASCAR officially granted Kyle Larson the playoff waiver, cementing his shot at the 2024 Cup Series title. But that’s not all. With the anticipation of a waiver and the subsequent stress now subsiding, Larson stunned the home crowd with a second career win at Sonoma Raceway, placing him back into the points lead.

The hometown hero makes the most of his waiver with HMS’ strategic masterclass

After Kyle Larson missed out on the Coca-Cola 600 owing to the storm system over NC, getting a waiver was not the only concern. With Denny Hamlin snatching away the regular season points lead, the #5 HMS driver had essentially lost out on 15 points. According to the rules, the regular season champion receives the most points out of any driver, making it crucial for a Champion 4 aspirant to set that benchmark.

That being said, Kyle Larson wasted no time in reclaiming that top spot with his stellar win over Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. As all four drivers were within the top ten starting lineup, HMS was in a prime spot to ensure good results for all, especially Kyle Larson. Still, the #5 HMS driver would have to play the long game in order to bring home a win at Sonoma.

With Denny Hamlin‘s 23XI star, Tyler Reddick out in front, Kyle Larson was able to make his way to fourth at the start of stage 2.  At the end of the second stage, Chris Buescher had regained the lead but was on older tires, prompting Kyle Larson to pit for fuel and four tires with 29 laps to go in the third stage. The #5 HMS crew had perfectly calculated the time of his pit stop to intersect Chris Buescher and Truex Jr.

Larson was back in contention for the win. Reflecting on the competent strategy, Larson shared with SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio, “It’s always interesting with different strategies and stuff going on but for us, it was pretty clean. We had some good restarts and were able to have a good car to stay on offense and were able to pick our way forward, and just play a great job with our strategy.”

According to Larson, going conservative in the first two stages significantly helped their chances to turn on aggression in the final stage. With a filled tank and fresh rubber right beneath his feat, the #5 HMS driver was able to slowly reel in Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. Whilst Buesch was an easy pass owing to older tires, Truex Jr put up a valiant fight till a handful of laps remained.

So as Kyle Larson slowly built up a lead of over two seconds, the checkered flag fell, and Larson’s patience was rewarded greatly. He further added, “You know, watching Buescher and Truex and just trying to stay patient behind them, that paid off…..Just a great day. Martin (Truex Jr) kept the pressure on for sure. You know, great day, great execution by everybody.”

At the end of the road-course action at Sonoma, it was the Sacramento native who had done it once again. With Larson now back into the regular season points lead and clocking in another win, it’s safe to say his resilience truly paid off.

But that’s not all. The #5 HMS driver also highlighted his growing popularity as a result of this unstoppable success.

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Ever since 2018, Chase Elliott has held the top spot as NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver. Taking over from Dale Earnhardt Jr, who had in turn taken over from Bill Elliott, the #9 HMS driver was deemed to make a similarly long run as the MPD. However, after last year’s suspension and lackluster results, Elliott may not be able to hold onto that position for long.

Whilst it’s no secret that Kyle Larson’s popularity was certainly evident in Sonoma since it’s an hour away from his hometown, the #5 driver also highlighted the Double’s ripple effects. Larson shared with SiriusXM,  “It’s great. I’ve really felt the love and support everywhere we’ve gone this year. Not just home, but I think home even more so. A lot of people had been excited about the month of May for me and all that and I really enjoyed that.”

Although he might not have been able to complete the Double to bring glory to the hometown fans, Larson certainly redeemed himself with the stellar road-course win at Sonoma. With the #5 HMS driver’s career seeming like it’s nothing short of a fairy tale, it’s no surprise many new fans are on board for the wild journey.

After the race had ended, Larson took a moment to take in the sight of his growing popularity; “So good to come home and see a lot of people in my gear and all that and cheering for me and waving after we got the checkered flag, it’s so great. So it’s cool to be here in Wine Country, close to home, and get another win.”

Taking a look at Kyle Larson’s unstoppable dominance in NASCAR, do you think this is truly his season to visit victory lane in the Championship 4?