Kyle Larson confirmed his NASCAR playoff run would be continuing after another win, which has lifted him back into first place in the standings.
The American driver had fallen as low as fourth just two races ago, after a disastrous Kansas race that saw him finish in 26th place.
He has remained calm under pressure and delivered when it was needed most, to ensure that he remains in the picture to earn his second NASCAR crown.
It was his rivals that were under the most duress though, as Joey Logano was eliminated before being reinstated due to Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate – Alex Bowman, being disqualified.
Kyle Larson achieves ‘first time’ feat with win
Larson has never really been at threat of elimination during the NASCAR playoffs, and now he has twice the amount of wins than anyone else in the championship.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, he confirmed after the race that two first-time instances made his weekend a bit easier to manage.
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“It’s the first time in my playoff career I’ve not been close to the cut line so it was good to have a little bit of a stress-free week,” he said.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve been here without crashing. Good weekend … Obviously, we’re here at Hendrick’s home and got so many people here from there.
“Gonna be fun to celebrate with them. Knowing that I don’t really use the sim much and I was in the sim this week, so huge thank you to the guys there.
“It really helped me get into a rhythm early on and help us kind of fine-tune our car. Hats off to everybody there.”
What next for Larson’s title aspirations?
There are just four races of the season left now, starting off with the South Point 400 in Las Vegas – a track where Larson too has fared well in the past.
It’s a somewhat comforting 20-point lead which he holds at the top of the standings, but we have seen how quickly that can evaporate this season.
The likes of Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron are all hot on his heels as they chase the silverware.
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2024’s season finale is set up to be a thriller, and all it takes is for one retirement or accident to blow the whole fight wide open.
Larson will be wary of that and will factor it into his driving throughout the rest of the season as he attempts to bring home his second title.