Larson builds Chase lead with Kansas win
A second victory in three races puts Kyle Larson 26 points clear of Denny Hamlin with six races remaining, though Larson says he is not treating the lead as his to lose.
Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas Speedway, recovering the lead after Chase Briscoe passed him with 30 laps remaining. The win, his second in the past three races after a 51-race winless stretch, moved Larson into a stronger position in The Chase.
Fox Sports reports that Larson earned 76 points at Kansas, including stage points and the fastest-lap point. He now leads Denny Hamlin by 26 points with six races left. Christopher Bell is 50 points behind and Joey Logano 67 behind.
Larson said after the race he was focused on doing his best rather than treating the standings lead as his to lose. He also cautioned that a rain-cancelled qualifying session and a front-row start may have helped, and said he was unsure how his car would have performed in traffic.
The next two races are at Las Vegas and Charlotte, both 1.5-mile ovals. Hamlin said his recent finishes reflected his team’s current speed and pointed to short-run balance as an area to improve.
