Larson Runner-Up After “Fun” Battle with SVG on the ROVAL

By Seth Eggert, Writer

CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson settled for a runner-up end after a “fun” battle for the lead with Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.

Larson assumed the lead on the ultimate restart, bringing Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell with him. The duo initially pulled away from Gisbergen’s No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet till they pitted on lap 72.

The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet inherited the lead when the New Zealander hit pit highway two laps later with 25 to go. For a time, Larson thought he had a shot on the win.

“I mean he was riding and I was trying to kind of just strategize my race a little differently there and felt like, maybe if I could get to the lead here and maybe bring Bell along with me, I could stretch out,” Larson defined. “It was kind of playing out that way, but he’s just so good on the long runs with this stuff. So for, I don’t know, 30 minutes or so, I was like, man, I got a really good shot to win this. And then he started charging.” 

The shot at a win flashed when Gisbergen caught the Elk Grove, Calif. native with 14 laps to go. The rookie Cup Series driver dove in late in flip seven and hit Larson within the driver’s facet door.

The 33-year-old responded by not letting Gisbergen again onto the banking within the oval part after which giving a slam of his personal coming into the backstretch chicane. Finally Larson despatched the highway course ace into the frontstretch chicane and compelled him huge exiting flip two. Gisbergen caught the Hendrick Motorsports driver with 12 to go and cleanly drove by him for the lead, and in the end the win.

“It was fun,” Larson stated. “He was manner, manner quicker and he was going to cross me ultimately, any time he actually needed to. I assumed he was a good bit again in flip seven, so I opened up and he drove proper into the facet of me. 

“So I was like, all right, well, that’s kind of fair game, I’m going to hit you a couple of times now, but I didn’t want to crash him or anything like that. I was able to get back to the lead and kind of get Bell back in the mix and was hoping something crazy might happen and we could have a better opportunity but he’s just way better.” 

Larson settled into second as Bell’s No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE hit pit highway. With the excessive tire put on, nobody contested the 2021 Cup Series champion within the remaining 11 laps, permitting him to earn his first high 5 end because the Brickyard 400 at Indiana’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and first top-five on a highway course this season.

“I think we just executed the whole weekend better than we had all year on road courses,” Larson said. “I really feel like we actually acquired our highway course automobile higher at Mexico, however we acquired worn out within the rain within the first few laps, so we didn’t get to point out for it, however we acquired the quickest lap. 

“We had brake problems at Watkins Glen in the first few laps, so we didn’t get to show for it there but we had the fastest lap. And then we were able to come here and execute qualifying well and just do a good job and really kind of show, I think, where our car speed is at on the road courses. That was nice to see because all my finishes on row course have been like 30th this year. I just don’t know where we would stack up but good to get a solid weekend for sure.” 

With the highest 5 end Larson secured a spot within the Round of Eight for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The Round of Eight begins with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas (NV) Motor Speedway.

In 18 begins on the Las Vegas oval the NASCAR Drive for Diversity alumnus has three victories, most just lately within the 2024 Pennzoil 400 offered by Jiffy Lube.

Broadcast protection of the South Point 400 at Las Vegas is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET, dwell on the USA Network, Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.