Kyle Larson opted to “try something” on the final lap of Sunday night’s race at Darlington.
It was daring and desperate, and it almost worked.
Larson had struggled to gain ground on leader Denny Hamlin in the final laps of the Southern 500, but he decided to take a risk.
In an attempt to reach Hamlin’s back bumper, Larson drove his No. 5 Chevrolet deep into Turn 3 and into the wall. He reached by Turn 4, but the damage to his car was too great for him, and his momentum lost as he approached the checkered flag, resulting in a 2nd finish.
“We got to the white (flag), and I was like, well, I haven’t been able to gain on him now, I’m going to try something. Honestly got to his bumper too quick,” Larson said. “I was hoping he was going to run that diamond to kind of be safe and I could skirt to his outside but (I) gave everything I had.
“I didn’t want to wreck him, I just wanted to try to get to his outside there, but he did a great job not really making any mistakes during the last run, and I was having to push really hard in second to try and just stay with him.”
For the majority of the night, the Cup Series playoff opening had been a back-and-forth fight between Hamlin and Larson up front. Larson led 156 laps out of 367, while Hamlin led 146, including the last 69.
Several playoff contenders experienced problems during the race, but Hamlin and Larson remained mistake.
Larson had a chance on a restart on Lap 332 after a late-race caution for a collision involving Chase Elliott, but Hamlin quickly pulled away.
“I was hoping we’d catch some sort of traffic, but we never really did,” Larson said. “Our Chevy was really good out front, just in traffic I would get stuck. Like in traffic I just got stuck really bad.
“Then there at the end losing control of the race really hurt us, but all-in-all a great day, good points day. Pit crew did great. Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) made some good changes in the car, so try again next week.”
The win sends Hamlin to the Round of 12, although Larson maintains a 34-point series lead over Hamlin.
“It’s good to get a good start. I think everybody’s, you know, nervous getting ready for the final 10 (races) and just the anticipation of how it’s going to go,” Larson said. “So good to get a good first week in and build some momentum and some confidence within the team.”
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