Kyle Larson gears up for track time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Kyle Larson 2018 season recap

By Zack Albert | Published: December 13, 2018 16

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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

Kyle Larson's 2018 campaign landed him solidly into the NASCAR Playoffs picture, but he missed out on scratching the win column in the Monster Energy Series. The season still produced plenty of highlights and big moments, compiled here in Larson's season in review.

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Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. engage in a three-wide battle in the Daytona 500.

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Larson finished 19th in the season-opening Daytona 500, his Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet absorbing damage in a pileup at the end of Stage 1. Larson's tough luck at restrictor-plate tracks continued in 2018, and he was 0-for-4 at finishing in the top 10 at either Daytona or Talladega.

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Kyle Larson celebrates with his son, Owen, after an Xfinity Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Larson broke through with his first Victory Lane trip of the season in the Xfinity Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His son, Owen, got into the act to share in the celebration.

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Kyle Larson faces pressure from Kyle Busch's No. 18 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Larson came close to scoring his first victory at one of his favorite tracks -- Bristol Motor Speedway -- in April. Kyle Busch executed a bump-and-run maneuver on him in the closing laps, leaving Larson to settle for second place. It wouldn't be the only time in 2018 that Larson either had a run-in with Busch or finished second.

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Kyle Larson exits his damaged car at Texas Motor Speedway.

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Kyle Larson exits his battered No. 42 Chevy after a heavy hit at Texas Motor Speedway resulted in his first DNF of the season. Larson was running at the finish in 32 of 36 races in 2018.

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Kyle Larson sits on pit wall with his daughter, Audrey, before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series' First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

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On the personal front, Larson and his then-fiancee Katelyn Sweet welcomed their second child in May -- a girl named Audrey Layne Larson. Larson and Sweet married in late September.

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Kyle Larson displays his Busch Pole Award as the No. 1 qualifier at Sonoma Raceway.

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Larson rounded out the month of June by showing off the Busch Pole Award, his second straight at Sonoma Raceway. Larson won three pole positions in 2018, adding No. 1 starting spots at Dover and Bristol.

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Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson shake hands after their last-lap battle at Chicagoland Speedway.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Larson and Busch reprised their late-race clash in July at Chicagoland Speedway, trading final-lap bumps in a battle that Busch eventually won. The two friendly rivals ended the day with a sign of mutual respect in Victory Lane.

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Kyle Larson adds an Xfinity Series winner's sticker to his car at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Larson entered just six Xfinity Series races in 2018, but made the most of them. He added his fourth and final winner's sticker of the season to the No. 42 in August at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Kyle Larson's No. 42 hugs the high line at Darlington Raceway as he races near Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon.

Sarah Crabill | Getty Images

Larson had another close brush with victory at Darlington Raceway over Labor Day weekend. He led 284 of 367 laps, but faded to a third-place finish in the Bojangles' Southern 500. Larson's hard-luck stats from 2018 included six runner-up finishes without a win.

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Kyle Larson poses with the Monster Energy Series championship trophy after qualifying for the playoff field at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Larson's eight top-five finishes in the regular season were enough to land him a spot in the Monster Energy Series playoffs. He was reseeded 12th among the 16 postseason contenders.

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Kyle Larson navigates the banking at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Larson opened the postseason at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by leading 24 laps and finishing second. His No. 42 Chevrolet donned a special "Vegas Strong" paint scheme in honor of the victims of the 2017 mass shooting in the city.

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Kyle Larson's crew goes to work on repairs to the No. 42 Chevrolet at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

The No. 42 crew helped patch together Larson's ride for a last-ditch run to the finish in the inaugural race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. Larson's effort to nurse the car home in 25th was just enough to clinch a berth in the Round of 12.

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Kyle Larson's No. 42 leads a pack of cars at Kansas Speedway.

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Larson had finishes of 12th, 11th and this third-place run at Kansas Speedway, but still came up short of advancing in the championship hunt.

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Kyle Larson's No. 42 Chevrolet smokes after an incident in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Robert Laberge | Getty Images

Larson carried high hopes of salvaging a victory in the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but a scrape with the wall and a tire problem knocked him from contention. He won Stage 2 and led 45 laps but wound up 13th in the 39-car field.

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Kyle Larson and his wife, Katelyn, attend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas.

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Larson and his wife toasted the season with the rest of the stock-car racing community at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas.