Kyle Larson surges to front at the end of the race, winning his the first Brickyard 400
Kyle Larson moved his way to the front, just outside the top 20 on the closing laps and took home his very first Brickyard 400 and fourth race of 2024.
By Holly Cain
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Only two months after competing in the Indianapolis 500, Kyle Larson returned to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon to claim the trophy in one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ crown jewel events, the 30th Anniversary Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG – holding off the field in a dramatic double overtime finish.
Larson was the only driver to lead seven laps in his race’s 167 laps, in the No. 5. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – six of them occurring in extra time periods, when they were most neededeventually squeezing out the race’s pole sitter 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney on the bell lap. A caution was issued a short time later to end the race when Ryan Preece’s Ford was unable to move and stalled on the track.
A 31-year old Californian Larson took off from on top of Chevrolet Camero to wave his arms towards the grandstands and applaud the cheering crowd. evidently thrilled by his first win at an NASCAR race that is among the world’s revered races which was returning to the 2.5-mile oval after three years of competing on the road course. The victory came 30 years after Hendrick Motorsports team executive Jeff Gordon took home the first stock car race on the historic track.
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Larson has won his three-time NASCAR crown jewel victory which includes winning the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the longest race in the sport that is that of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It’s just eight weeks following Larson’s 18th-place performance during the race that marked his Indianapolis 500 debut. The weather was not kind to his journey to Charlotte to race in the NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, the second portion race’s “Double,” so this week’s effort at Indy seemed like a way to earn his place in the race.
“This is just such a prestigious place, such hallowed ground,” stated the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson who is currently leading this series by winning four times in the current season.
“Pretty cool to get an chance to race on the oval once more. What an accomplishment of our crew. We never gave up in the least.
“And to all the fans, I love it here,” said the actor with a smile. “I think everything has come full circle with what was meant to be and today was meant to be for us.”
Through the final laps, third-place finisher Blaney believed it was supposed to be for Blaney along with his number. 12 Team Penske Ford team. He was seated on the front row along with the fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski for the first overtime restart, when Keselowski abruptly walked onto pit road after running out gas – and ignoring the green flag.
It opened the way which allowed Larson who was placed behind Keselowski at the beginning – to swoop ahead and take the advantage over Blaney. This was a position that which he was never going to ever relinquish.
“It’s no fun, had a really good shot to win today,” Blaney said. obviously disappointed Blaney stated. “Our car was very fast. I thought we had a great strategies. It was like being the front man trying to use a amount of gas. I think we’ve put ourselves in a good position.
“I know that the six [Keselowski] likely going to be out of the race when it was green. When I saw the restart I was stunned that they didn’t leave. I was certain that they would be able to make it. Therefore, I decided to go with the top option, as he may be out during the restart area. He gets out on the green, so he has to run pit road and then the 5 is promoted.
“Luck for the day.”” right there, I think. I’m not sure. I’m not sure what I am mad about. I’m angry at the fact that we lost this race since I believed we were in a great situation.”
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Reddick’s second-place finish – passing Blaney during the lap with a white flag ensures that he is in contention to win the Regular Season Championship. Larson has a 10-point advantage through the sport’s summer break, and Reddick is just 15 points further back, with only four races left during the season. in the field of sixteen drivers for Playoff.
“Obviously, a lot of cars and a lot of things had to happen for us to get second,” Reddick said. Reddick who plowed the race with a record-setting 40 laps the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. “Honestly it was a great day. Naturally, if you want to returning to the Brickyard isn’t easy when you come to a single spot behind. After we rounded turn two I realized I was in the middle. Larson was bound make an error.
“Glad that we’ve had a successful recovery. Another good points day. We weren’t able to close the gap over the 5, [Larson] as much, but we did close a slightly in the 9 (ElliottEliott. In the grand scheme of things it was a fantastic game for our team.”
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell finished fourth and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace turned in an impressive fifth-place finish. Wallace also scored his first stage victory since 2022. He led the field by a mile at the break at the end of the second stage.
There was no real pace to the race with various pit stop strategies that put drivers on the on top. There thirteen leaders and 17 lead changes in the afternoon.
Denny Hamlin, who led 21 laps, won his first stage victory -his sixth stage win of the season, and the first time for the veteran driver at Indy. He placed 32nd following being injured in a multiple-car collision in the restart of the first overtime and is currently fifth in the standings for championship, 43 points down Larson.
Front Row Motorsport’s Todd Gilliand, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, Stewart Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson, and Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10.
It was an important point-sapping win for Wallace who is trying to qualify for playoffs. Wallace currently trails his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain by only seven points to get the 16th and final playoff spot. Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Chris Buescher is 15th in points, just 17 points behind Wallace.
NASCAR will now take an extended two-week break to prepare to prepare for this Summer Olympics. Its Cup Series will return Aug. 11 at Richmond Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). There are still four races on the schedule for this season’s regular-season races.
Note: Post-race inspections were done without issue at the Cup Series garage, confirming Kyle Larson as the winner.