Larson takes All-Star Race
FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Larson won the NASCAR All-Star Race for the second time in three years, adding another $1 million prize to a strong season in his first year with Hendrick Motorsports.
Larson held off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski during the final 10-lap shootout at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday night. That came after a slippery three-wide pass to get back in front and push Hendrick to its second consecutive win and 10th overall in the annual showcase with a seven-figure prize but no Cup Series points at stake.
Hendrick’s Chase Elliott — the reigning Cup Series champion and the All-Star winner last year at Bristol Motor Speedway — started the sixth and final segment out front but didn’t stay there long. Larson pushed his teammate, then got in front on the outside through the fourth turn. They were three wide while Team Penske’s Keselowski pulled ahead briefly at the line before Larson finally got ahead to stay for the last eight laps.
Larson went to victory lane for the third weekend in a row.
He was with Chip Ganassi Racing when he won the 2019 All-Star Race, buthe missed last year’s big event while serving a six-month suspension after using a racial slur during the livestream of a virtual race while racing was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. That nearly cost him his career, but Hendrick gave him an opportunity this season to get back into the Cup Series.
Second in points with 10 races to go before the playoffs, Larson is only the eighth driver to be a two-time All-Star winner.
Elliott finished third with Penske’s Joey Logano fourth, ahead of teammate Ryan Blaney and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman.
Hendrick drivers Elliott, William Byron and Larson started the final segment 1-2-3. Elliott had moved from third to first during the 30-lap fifth segment that included a required four-tire stop and $100,000 prize for his crew that had the fastest stop.
Byron won the fourth segment and had the lowest cumulative finish through the first four 15-lap segments. Larson, Blaney and Bowman finished in front for the first three segments.
Larson was on the pole by a random draw and was still in front at the end of the first segment. After a random inversion of the top 12 finishers in that first stage, Blaney was moved from 12th to first to start the next 15 laps.
Blaney stayed in front, even holding on after wiggling because of contact from behind by Ross Chastain, one of three drivers who advanced to the main event from the earlier open qualifying race.
After a full-field inversion going to the third stage, Aric Almirola, who also got in through the qualifying race, went from last to first, but it was Bowman — after getting pushed up from 17th to fifth — in the lead after that 15 laps.
On a hot night deep in the heart of Texas, drivers emerged through the saloon doors on a huge facade during prerace introductions while their cars were rolled through a corral gate. Drivers did their warmup laps while Sammy Hagar performed “I Can’t Drive 55” from the stands, ending right at the green flag.