Amidst Rick Hendrick‘s misery in Vegas with the #9 and #48 Chevy drivers meeting their match even before the checkered flew, his once-in-a-generation talent, Kyle Larson, locked his spot in the final 4 with an exhilarating finish. The scene was electric as the 2021 Cup Series champion rose up to the challenge, recovering from a possible race-ending slip earlier to bag his 5th win of the season.

Not only did Larson become the first driver to secure a final 4 berth but he did so emphatically, edging out Joe Gibbs Racing‘s pole sitter, beating him to the punch as the #5 HMS Chevy did its customary burnout, smoking the rubber. The victory was all the more emphatic as Larson not only trounced the pole sitter who had edged him out to the 2nd spot in qualifying but also overcame a major slip in the middle of the race to rack his 2nd playoff win.

Kyle Larson runs for his 2nd title after acing all 3 stages in Vegas

Throughout the season, Kyle Larson’s name has echoed in every studio when a championship conversation unfolds. Often lauded as a unique talent, while Larson’s hit-or-miss type of racing raised concerns, in the end, the driver proved all his naysayers wrong. That too in the most savage way possible—with a win in the first race of the round of 8 to advance into the Championship 4.

With Kyle Larson being 1 of 4 racers that will battle it out in Phoenix later this year, the 2023 iteration of the NASCAR Cup Series is heading for an epic conclusion as fans await a heated rivalry between Larson and his friend Denny Hamlin. While the JGR veteran managed to finish a half-decent 10th in the intermediate track, his teammate Christopher Bell just couldn’t close the gap on the #5 Chevy.

The 267-lap race at the 1.5-mile track in Vegas reached its crescendo as Bell and Larson kept going back and forth—Larson led 133 laps against Bell’s 61—until Larson seized the lead and kept it. However, the #20 JGR Toyota looked like it was about to snatch off a win, closing in on the #5 as the race neared its final laps. While Bell managed to shorten the gap from 5 seconds to a 3/10th of a second, Larson and his Chevy crossed the finish line as Bell’s efforts went in vain.

Joined by his children in the victory lane, Larson praised Bell for racing him with respect, while also taking a subtle dig at Hamlin. He said, “I could see him coming in my mirror for sure, I was hoping that lappers were going to give me the bottom and the #38 went off the bottom and I knew I couldn’t follow him. I just didn’t want to do all the way to the top and middle of it but thankfully Christopher Bell always races clean and it could’ve got crazier than it looked coming to the finish line so thank you to him for racing with respect there.” 

WATCH THIS STORY: Kyle Larson wins his own Sprint car series, faces backlash from fans 

While most enthusiasts and analysts gave the edge to the more consistent JGR cars to ace the 1.5-mile track, Larson’s rally, acing all 3 stages of the is a tight slap on the face for all the doubters and haters.

“I feel like that was my moment”—Disheartened Christopher Bell reacts to loss amidst his teammate’s critical error

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Nobody can match Christopher Bell’s streak when it clinching poles this season. So far the 28-year-old has racked up 6 poles but the driver hasn’t translated the head start to a win yet. Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had similar outlines. Bell looked strong when he edged out Larson to grab the pole but as the race unraveled into the final laps, Bell just could not close the gap before the time.

To add insult to injury, JGR cars were on the wrong end this time. While the #20 driver lost a win by a close margin, his teammate, Ty Gibbs got held up by NASCAR after a major slip-up that could’ve been a fatal error. In the 217th lap of the race, Joe Gibbs’s grandson, who was in for a 4-wide battle off of turn 2, met his match when one of the car’s wheels came loose.

This prompted NASCAR to levy a 2-lap penalty on the #54 car/team for its negligence. Whereas Bell was obviously disappointed seeing the win slip away from his cusp. Speaking to the pit reporter, he said, “I feel like that was my moment to make the final 4 and didn’t quite capture it so we’ll, I don’t know, I come in to the checker there, I knew that he was going to be blocking so I’m not going to go high and he went high and I don’t even know if I had to get by coming to the line, so just wasn’t enough but you know a great day. a great day for sure to get those stage points.” 

READ MORE: “Way Too Much Money” – Denny Hamlin Attacks NASCAR’s Shallow Behavior as Drivers Are Continued to Be Neglected

With Larson securing his spot, all eyes are on Hamlin who will look to clinch his berth and redeem himself of the choker tag, giving the community an epic conclusion as the 2 friends battle it out for the title.