Kyle Larson completed one of the best seasons in NASCAR history by winning Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway to claim the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
An 11.8-second pit stop under caution from Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team gave him the lead entering the race’s final restart with 24 laps to go.
Larson did the rest, holding off fellow Championship 4 drivers Martin Truex Jr. (finished second), Denny Hamlin (finished third), and Chase Elliott (finished fifth).
Larson, who closes the season with 10 wins, becomes the 35th driver to win a title in NASCAR’s premier series.
He does so after spending much of the 2020 season indefinitely suspended by NASCAR following his use of a racial slur during an April 2020 e-sports event.
Now, Larson has given the powerhouse organization its 14th Cup crown.
“I cannot believe it,” Larson told NBC Sports after the race. “I didn’t think I’d be racing a Cup car a year and a half ago, and to win the championship is crazy. … There were so many points of this race where I did not think that we were going to win.
“And without my pit crew on that last stop, we would not be standing right here. They’re the true winners of this race. They’re the true champions. I’m just blessed to be a part of this group. Every single person at Hendrick Motorsports – this win is for all of us and every one of you.
“This is unbelievable, I’m speechless.”
After winning the Cup title in 2017, Truex has now finished second in points for the third time in the last four seasons.
“’18, ’19, ’21 – three years, we were right there and had a car capable of winning, and just for whatever reason, it didn’t go the way we needed it to,” Truex told NBC Sports. “And at the end there, not quite enough speed to get to (Larson) and around him.
“I thought if he’d stay on the bottom a little bit longer, I’d have a shot. But he moved up and I couldn’t do anything on the bottom. It is what it is. They did a great job, they had a great season. Congrats to them. We’ll come back and try again next year.”
Stage 1 began with the Championship 4 drivers taking different strategies off early cautions. Larson pitted for tires on the day’s first yellow at Lap 8, but cycled back toward the front when Elliott, Hamlin, and Truex made their own first stops during a yellow at Lap 16.
Ryan Blaney stayed out under the latter caution and kept the lead for the next 30 or so laps. But on Lap 51, Truex passed him for the race lead. While Blaney faded out of the top five, Truex pulled away to the stage win ahead of Kevin Harvick, Elliott, Hamlin and Larson.
As Stage 2 progressed, Truex’s long-run speed helped him reel Elliott in. Over 35 laps into the run, he reclaimed the race lead from Elliott at Lap 120. A Quin Houff crash brought out the yellow at Lap 130 and brought the leaders to the pits. Elliott again was first off to take the race lead, while Truex fell to fourth and Hamlin fell to ninth with slow stops.
Two more cautions for incidents led to another round of pit stops under a yellow at Lap 156. There, Larson came out first ahead of Elliott. Several cars stayed on the track, but during the ensuing restart, the entire Championship 4 were able to pass that group unscathed. Larson went on to win Stage 2 ahead of Elliott, Hamlin, Truex Jr. and Blaney.
Larson, Elliott, Hamlin and Truex Jr. kept their positions through pit stops during the stage break and the restart to begin the final stage. Elliott took the race lead back from Larson at Lap 236, as Hamlin in third began to close in with long-run speed of his own.
On Lap 245, Hamlin passed Larson for second and began working to catch Elliott. Three laps later, Truex was the first of the Championship 4 to visit pit road. As his car was serviced, Anthony Alfredo slammed the Turn 2 wall to bring out the yellow at Lap 249.
However, due to the timing of the yellow, Truex was able to stay on the lead lap. And with the other Championship 4 drivers pitting, Truex stayed out to cycle into the lead while Hamlin was first off pit road ahead of Elliott.
Truex and Ryan Blaney (who was also pitting when Alfredo crashed) led the field to green with 58 laps to go. When the field shook out, Truex and Hamlin were first and second, while Elliott and Larson were in third and fourth.
As the run went on, JGR’s long-run speed – now bolstered by track position – allowed Truex and Hamlin to pull away.
But with 30 laps to go, debris from the car of David Starr brought out the caution to set up the money stop for Larson’s No. 5 team – which in turn set up Larson for the exclamation point on a stellar season.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Martin Truex Jr.
STAGE 2 WINNER: Kyle Larson
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Ryan Blaney finished fourth to lead the non-Championship drivers … Fellow Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski finished 10th in his final start for the team before moving to Roush Fenway Racing.
The team stated on social media: “It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our StarCom Racing fans. After the championship this weekend, out #00 charter will take new ownership. Thank you so much to all our fans for the fun memories and loyal support over the years.”
The team’s first full-time season was 2018 with Landon Cassill as the driver. He drove for the team in 2019 before Quin Houff joined the team in 2020.
The team did not say who will take over ownership of the charter for the 2022 season. Spire Motorsports is expected to be the owner of that charter.
Sunday Kansas Cup race: Start time, lineup, TV info
Ryan Blaney will join him on the front row. His 17-point cushion above the cutline is the biggest of the seven remaining playoff drivers seeking a spot in the title race. Denny Hamlin (+9) and Martin Truex Jr. (+8) are also above the cutline.
START: Emmy Award-winning actor Eric Stonestreet will give the command to start engines at 3:07 p.m. … The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:18 p.m.
PRERACE: Cup garage opens at 8 a.m. … Drivers report to pre-race at 2:25 p.m. … Driver introductions are at 2:30 p.m. … The invocation will be given by Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College (Kansas City, Kan.) at 3 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by Alexander Rutledge, senior airman at Whiteman Air Force Base (Johnson County, Mo.), at 3:01 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 267 laps (400.5 miles) on the 1.5-mile speedway.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 80. Stage 2 ends at Lap 160.
TV/RADIO: NBCSN coverage begins with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m., leading into race coverage … The NASCAR America Post-Race Show follows on NBCSN at 6:30 p.m. … Motor Racing Network’s radio coverage begins at 2 p.m. and also will stream at mrn.com; SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the broadcast.
FORECAST:Weather Underground’s forecast calls for thunderstorms, a high of 73 degrees, and a 23% chance of rain around the start of the race.
TO THE REAR: Chase Briscoe (unapproved adjustments), Ryan Newman (car failed inspection twice) and Quin Houff (car failed inspection three times). Houff also will have to serve a pass-through in the pits after the field takes the green and car chief Dave Jones was ejected.
LAST TIME OUT: In May at Kansas, Kyle Busch celebrated his 36th birthday with a win after pulling away on a restart with two laps to go. Kyle Larson led 132 of 267 laps but bounced off the wall as he pushed Ryan Blaney on the final restart and Blaney got out of shape. Larson finished 19th.
Few people can appreciate Kyle Larson’s remarkable season more than Mario Andretti, who knows the challenges of racing in different vehicles on different surfaces against different drivers and often ending with the same result. Winning.
“That’s his life,” Andretti told NBC Sports about Larson. “That’s what he loves. I identify with that. That’s the reason I gravitated toward him in a sense of being particularly interested in what he’s doing.
“He’s not the only one that interests me, but he just captured me in a very special way because I see a lot of myself there.”
Andretti, 81, is motorsports royalty. He’s the only driver to win a Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Formula 1 championship. He sees Larson’s passion to race and family support to do so – just as Andretti had when he raced so many different vehicles – as key elements to Larson’s success.
Larson has had a season unlike any other. Among the favorites to claim the Cup title, he’s won one of NASCAR’s crown jewels, the Coca-Cola 600, along with four other points races and the All-Star Race. He’ll look to add to his trophy case with Saturday’s playoff event at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
No one has won those events and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year. This comes after a 2020 season that saw him win 46 of 97 races on dirt.
“Not that I don’t want to be just referenced as the greatest NASCAR driver of all time or the greatest sprint car driver of all time, I want to be known as somebody who could climb into all different types of cars and be great at what they do,” Larson told NBC Sports.
Andretti smiles when hears those words.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Andretti said of Larson’s quest. “It’s not just about trying. ‘OK, I’m going to give it a go.’ “(It’s) win. Win. You have got to win in somebody else’s sandbox at their own game.
“That’s what gives you the ultimate satisfaction. That’s why you do it. That’s what drives you. You need it, that type of motivation. I can see his motivation is the thought process I was giving it.”
That motivation led Larson to drive his car against the wall on the last lap of last weekend’s Southern 500 in an effort to pass Denny Hamlin for the win. It didn’t work, but the move capped the opening playoff race with one of the most exciting final laps of the season.
Larson acknowledged it was a “video game” move but when he explained it afterward, he methodically described how he couldn’t go low because Hamlin was blocking him. So Larson chose to build speed and bounce off the wall.
“Let’s call that a Hail Mary,” Andretti said. “It’s exactly what it was.”
He laughs.
“On the last lap, (Larson) figured, ‘You know what, I’m not going to crash it, but I’m really, really, really going to do something. That it’s either going to work or I’m still going to be second anyway.’ He was not going to throw away second. You could see that for sure.”
As he talks, Andretti laughs again, marveling at Larson’s last-ditch effort to win the race.
That’s what the best do. They make moves few think possible. The moves don’t always work, but when they do, they are unforgettable.
Andretti gave Larson one of the ultimate compliments in racing after Larson won the Chili Bowl in January. Andretti tweeted: “Can’t think of any present driver that’s more of a “Racer” than Kyle Larson.”
Many agree. Larson’s success in multiple forms of racing has led some to compare him to Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Tony Stewart.
“We’ve all been somewhat versatile in different situations and with different opportunities,” Andretti said. “I was feeding (off of) A.J. and Dan Gurney and people like that. Dan Gurney was winning in stock cars … Formula 1 and sports cars. ‘I want to do that.’ That’s really what motivated me.
“Somewhere along the line, I think Kyle connects with all of us that have been crossing over (to other series).”
In a way, it’s nothing new for Larson, who grew up aspiring to be a full-time driver in the World of Outlaws sprint car series. When opportunities arose in NASCAR, he took them but also looked to compete in as many dirt track races as possible.
Mario Andretti is a fan of Kyle Larson. Years ago, when asked by car owner Chip Ganassi about Larson’s dirt racing, Andretti told Ganassi how to handle it. (Photo by James Bearne/Getty Images)
Andretti has been a fan of Larson’s for some time. When Larson drove for team owner Chip Ganassi in NASCAR, Ganassi asked Andretti about Larson racing so much on dirt.
“I said, ‘Does he show up on time to drive your car?’” Andretti asked Ganassi.
“Oh yes,” Ganassi told Andretti.
“That’s all you can ask for,” Andretti said.
The point being as long as Larson was fulfilling his duties, Ganassi should let him race other cars.
“As an owner, I couldn’t blame Chip for wanting him to himself,” Andretti said. “For myself, every contract forbid me from doing anything else. I never even bothered to negotiate because I was going to do it anyway.”
With that in mind, Andretti told Ganassi one more thing.
“Don’t you dare,” Andretti said. “Don’t you dare tell Kyle not to race midgets or sprint cars.”
“OK, I hear you,” Ganassi said.
Times have changed and such things are negotiated. Car owner Rick Hendrick, who once didn’t like his drivers racing outside of NASCAR, gave his blessing for Larson to race beyond NASCAR (just as Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman also have been allowed to do this season). Larson has run the most races outside of NASCAR of his teammates.
Andretti said running all those races beyond his Cup events are beneficial to Larson’s growth.
“If you have that desire to do that crossover (to other series), you’re not giving up anything anywhere,” Andretti said. “If anything, you’re just gaining more knowledge and putting more in the bank.
“That’s the way I looked at it. Maybe I’m wrong. All I know is what I did and what worked for me. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world now looking back. I don’t think I gave up anything by doing that. If anything, I gained.”
Kyle Larson’s wins this season include the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR All-Star Race, the Chili Bowl Nationals and the Knoxville Nationals. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
While some compare Larson to Andretti, Foyt and Stewart, he’s not ready for such talk.
“I’m 29 years old, and I’m not anywhere close to the stuff that they’ve all accomplished,” Larson said. “At least I feel like I can hopefully track toward that someday as I’m approaching 20 more years of racing. I’d like to hopefully be in the same category as them. At least being mentioned with them right now is a huge honor.”
That’s what Stewart says of Larson.
“I think it’s an honor for all of us to be compared to Kyle right now because the kid, no matter what he gets in, he’s winning in,” Stewart told NBC Sports.
“What Kyle is doing – who knows the next time we’re going to see somebody that can do what he’s doing right now? People need to enjoy and appreciate what he is able to do in a race car right now and realize that … however many races he ends up winning, it is because of sheer talent.
“He’s a unicorn. He’s a diamond in the rough. He’s something special that doesn’t come around very often.”
2. Hot car (Literally)
One of the key issues with the Next Gen car is how hot it can get for drivers.
Denny Hamlin, driving the car for the first time in this week’s Daytona test, experienced the heat in the car.
“I can’t express how hot it was,” Hamlin said. “It was really, really hot.”
Hamlin felt that heat despite having an AC unit hooked to his helmet and wearing a cool shirt under his uniform.
“It is a concern,” Hamlin said of the heat in the cars. “It’s a big, big concern. Obviously, it’s difficult because it’s the way the car is designed. The design of it having where the exhaust is all boxed in running underneath the seat. It’s hot. It’s 450 degrees down in that box. It’s super hot.
“Then you’ve got the exhaust. All the hot radiator flowing into the car from the hood. I don’t really know. I think they’re going to have to make some big changes to it, something that will allow us to finish races without having major issues. I think they made some gains with some stuff they did with Austin Dillon later in the day, hopefully.”
Chris Buescher, who took part in the test, also noted the heat in the car.
“It’s pretty warm, so we’re working on trying to cool it off,” he said during the test. “We’ve got some different hose configurations, so we’re going through those trying to alleviate some of the heat inside.”
John Probst, NASCAR senior vice president, racing innovation, said work remained on the heat in the car.
“We obviously have a list of things to work on coming out of here,” he sad. “We have to work on the heat in the car; we have some ideas there. We used the afternoon today to try some big swings at things and found some directions to go, so I feel like we made some really big gains there.
3. Committed
Richmond has a history of commitment line violations and that could play a role in Saturday’s Cup playoff race.
“I feel like people don’t realize how little you can really see out of the Cup cars,” Alex Bowman said. “You can’t really see that box unless you’re squared-up with it. Late pit calls probably play a role in that. But it’s early. It’s hard to see. And that pit road entrance is super slick. The race track is super slick. So, there are a lot of factors. But it is definitely a tough one and an easy one to miss and cause a big penalty for yourself.”
In the spring race, Kyle Busch failed to get all four tires below the orange box before he pitted on Lap 343 of the 400-lap event. He was running third at the time. The penalty dropped him to 10th. He finished eighth.
In last fall’s playoff race at Richmond, Kevin Harvick was penalized for a commitment line violation on Lap 185. He was running second before the infraction and fell to 27th after the penalty. He finished seventh.
In the 2019 spring race, Ryan Blaney was penalized for a commitment line violation on Lap 311. He was running outside the top 20 at the time. He finished 25th.
William Byron avoided a penalty in last spring’s race but he missed pit road before his final green-flag stop and had to make another lap before pitting.
“To get on pit road, I think, there are a lot of different techniques,” Byron said. “It looks like some guys just kind of ultimately just turn down early and get to pit road extremely early.
“You kind of run the risk if you stay up there on the track of not getting the car slowed down. I knew I wasn’t going to make it, pretty early on, because the car started wheel-hopping and I couldn’t get the gears to match up and decel. So yeah, it’s a risk you take.
“On our end, I think there’s going to be more of a conservative approach this race just to make sure we don’t have any issues. You’ve still got to get all you can get. But do so, and make sure you can get there. I don’t see it being a huge issue. We all kind of know what we’re up against.”
4. Pit Road Speeding
Pit road speeding penalties can play a key role in the outcome of a race, as Martin Truex Jr. experienced in last weekend’s playoff opener at Darlington Raceway.
That was the fourth pit road speeding penalty for Truex this season. Three of those penalties have cost him likely top-two finishes, if not wins.
He was the first car off pit road with less than 50 laps left last weekend at Darlington when he was caught speeding. That dropped him to 15th. He finished fourth.
“I feel like we left some on the table,” Truex said after the race.
He is 36 points above the cutline heading to Richmond.
At Richmond in the spring, Truex finished second in both stages and was running second when he was caught speeding on Lap 294 of the 400-lap race. That dropped him to 12th. He finished fifth.
Here is a list of pit road speeding penalties for full-time Cup drivers this season (playoff drivers in bold):
Saturday marks 20 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Cars in the Xfinity and Cup races at Richmond will have paint schemes that pay tribute to first responders and those lost in the attacks.
NBC Sports will have a feature before the Cup race (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) that will include interviews with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton sharing memories of that time.
Earnhardt won at Dover in the first Cup race after the attacks. Helton was the NASCAR President in 2001. He was involved in the decision to postpone the New Hampshire race, scheduled a few days after Sept. 11, and resume the season the following week at Dover.
This week’s NASCAR on NBC podcast with Nate Ryan features the interview with Helton.
“If we do New Hampshire, it’s going to be a challenge, emotionally and physically,” Helton said. “Then everybody said ‘Let’s sleep on it and we’ll get together first thing Wednesday morning (Sept. 12, 2001).'” But by then I think everybody had resolved, ‘OK, we’re not going to do this at New Hampshire.’ … You had to figure out when that race was going to take place, if it were going to take place.
“Then you start thinking past all of that to where if we’re not going to run this weekend, when do we run again type thing.”
