Kyle Larson Misses Advancing Through Playoffs Despite Top-Three Finish
1 month agoHendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson settled for a third-place finish in Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Starting the race from ninth, Larson did not encounter any issues and advanced to sixth by the end of the first stage, collecting a few stage points. In the second stage, Larson ascended a few more positions, even through pit stops and cautions, to make it to fourth by the end of the stage, nabbing further stage points. The final stage is where the No. 5 Chevrolet driver showed he was a contender for the win as he made it to the lead late in the stage after nearly wrecking and getting damaged twice on pit road. When Larson stayed out on older tires on lap 414, he maintained the lead until Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney both overtook him on lap 477, relegating him to the third position until the end of the race. This marks the fifth race in a row where Larson placed sixth or better at Martinsville, but he did not gain enough points to advance to the championship race, falling seven points behind William Byron and Christopher Bell for the final spot to transfer to Phoenix.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com