Kyle Larson led 462 of 500 laps in an impressive performance, winning at Bristol for his fifth victory of the 2024 season and the 28th victory of his career. He finished as high as 11th on the track and led more laps than any Bristol winner since Cale Yarborough nearly half a century ago in 1977.
“I’ve had a lot of good cars since I came to Hendrick Motorsports, so it’s hard to say if this is the best. But man, it was a great effort from the team all weekend. Well practiced. You have to qualify well; we did that. Yeah, we just had a great car. Thanks to the whole 5 team. They’re the best in the business.
We dominate a lot of races but maybe we can’t win them all, so it feels really good to win one here.
“Just a phenomenal car. I was able to kind of keep my stuff under control and actually overtake a few cars at the end.”
Race winner Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished second, more than seven seconds behind. Bubba Wallace was third, Denny Hamlin fourth and Christopher Bell fifth. Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain rounded out the top ten.
Four drivers were also eliminated from the playoffs. They were the Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr., RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.
While Bowman led the race from pole position, Larson quickly took the lead and never relinquished it, sweeping the stages and remaining unchallenged while setting a blistering pace.
The fight for the round of 16
In the battle to advance, Suarez and Keselowski both fell off the lead lap early on, while Burton ended up behind the wall due to power steering problems.
The defining moment of the race came when Corey LaJoie crashed with about 170 laps to go, in his final start for Spire Motorsports. The field headed to pit road for the final fuel stop, and that’s where the playoff picture changed dramatically. Chase Briscoe had a slow stop, but Truex saw his whole night go up in smoke. In second place, he picked up a speeding penalty that put him at the back of the field. There was no further caution, and he remained trapped far back.
The battle for the final transfer spot was decided between Suarez and Gibbs. While the Trackhouse Racing driver endured a dismal night, falling several laps behind and barely running in the top 30, Gibbs stormed into the top ten. With 100 laps to go, they were separated by just four points. However, Gibbs faded while Suarez gained a few places, giving him enough breathing room to secure a spot in the round of 12.
When the points were reset for the next round, Larson was back at the top of the points standings. The bottom four are now Austin Cindric, Suarez, Bowman and Briscoe.
