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Kyle Larson said he never expected to win Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, even as he came off the last turn, and was “shocked” to see he had stretched his Chase lead to 73 points.
Kyle Larson took the white flag in the lead, was shuffled outside the top 10 off Turn 2, then got a push from Ross Chastain and beat William Byron to the line by 0.041 seconds for his first Cup Series superspeedway win.
Larson: ‘Definitely did not think I would win’
“Definitely did not think I would win. Even off of Turn 4 I did not think I would win,” Larson said after the race. “But that’s just superspeedway racing.”
Crew chief Cliff Daniels said the No. 5 Chevrolet lost momentum off Turn 2 on the final lap.
“I think we just got a little loose off of 2,” Daniels said in the Talladega media center. “I think the 33 was trying to push us, in our lane forward.”
Austin Hill drives the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing. Daniels said he was not sure how much ground Larson could make up before Chastain got behind him.
‘Never in a million years’
Larson came into Talladega five points ahead of Christopher Bell. He left 73 points ahead of Denny Hamlin after Bell, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick all had trouble.
“Never in a million years would I imagine leaving here plus 73,” Larson said. “I was shocked when I saw that on the screen.”
The swing came one week after Larson finished 34th at Phoenix Raceway when a cut tire sent him into the wall and cut his lead from 49 points to five.
Larson said the title is not decided.
“There’s still two races. It’s so easy to look at it and be like, ‘Oh, the 5’s got it,’” he said.
Finish under review
NASCAR reviewed the finish after photos appeared to show Larson’s tires on the yellow line during his final-lap charge. NASCAR ruled the pass legal, saying no tire went below the line, and said SMT data showed Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Byron and Cole Custer did not lift.
What’s next
The Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. The season ends November 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.
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