March 22, 2026

Kyle Larson ended Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway with a disappointing result of 32nd. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver began the race from the fourth position and displayed solid speed throughout the entire race. In the first stage, Larson ran inside the top 10 for most of the stage, but did not have the speed to compete for the lead against the top two drivers of the race, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski. At the end of the first stage, Larson finished fifth and earned six stage points. During the second stage, Larson was able to lead the race as Reddick dealt with car issues and Keselowski dealt with a slower pit stop that allowed Larson to compete for the lead with Chris Buescher. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 20 laps, but eventually lost the lead to Keselowski and slipped back to third, where he ended the second stage. In the final stage, Larson continued to run inside the top 10 through most of the stage, but as the stage progressed, he kept slipping and losing positions until he eventually was running 11th with 10 laps to go. Suddenly, Larson's car experienced internal issues with the toe link, causing him to fall off the lead lap and eventually finish in 32nd, two laps down. This continues a streak of not finishing a spring Darlington race in the top 10 since 2021, and he is now 10th in the regular-season standings after six races. --Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com