NASCAR insights: Martin Truex Jr. gets eliminated from the playoffs; Kyle Larson triumphs at Bristol
Tennessee / Bristol On Saturday night, Kyle Larson never really had a chance to lose and he never really had a chance to be overtaken for the lead.
The most laps led by a Bristol victor since Cale Yarborough led 496 in April 1977, with Larson leading 462 of the 500 as he strengthened his position and gained momentum heading into the playoff quarterfinals.
“We dominate a lot of races, but we might not close them all out, so it feels really good to close one out here,” Larson stated.
It was a dominating performance in a race the polar opposite of the spring where tires wore out after 40-50 laps. Teams could go a full fuel run of 180 laps around the 0.533-mile high-banked concrete oval.
That meant lengthy green-flag runs and a race that is known for its sparks and cautions that re-rack the field ended up having three cautions for incidents and little controversy.
“I know you guys probably think that the race in the spring was better, but as a driver, I would way rather run 100 percent all night long for 500 laps than run 50 percent [managing tire wear],” Larson said. “I don’t think that’s much of a race. I grew up racing different stuff where you do push the whole race, but I think that version of Bristol [tonight] is way more exciting.”
With only Joey Logano locked into the quarterfinal round (Round of 12) entering the race, 11 drivers survived the first playoff round to advance: Larson,
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