Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick tangled on the last lap of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, going for wild rides but ultimately holding their positions at the finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Larson was running second as he pursued eventual winner Chase Briscoe, and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet clanged against the outside retaining wall as he rode the high groove at the end of Sunday’s South Point 400. He slowed after the contact, and Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota piled in before it veered sharply into the infield grass.
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Larson kept his Kyle Busch tribute car rolling with sizable right-side damage and ended up second, 1.376 seconds behind Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at the checkered flag. Reddick ended up third.
“I was just trying to push it through (Turns) 3 and 4 to build some momentum at him and try to get by him down the straightaway,” said Larson, who has now finished first or second in the last four Cup Series races. “I just got really loose and overcorrected it into the wall. Thankfully, I was able to limp it home. It got exciting, for sure. I wish I could have won in this paint scheme while honoring Kyle because that would have been in very Kyle Busch fashion, but again, it was a great fight by this team.”
Larson, who recovered from early handling woes that left him a lap down to eventually contend in the late going, expanded his lead in the Cup Series standings to 40 points over second-place Denny Hamlin in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 postseason. He described Sunday’s showing as “a fight all day long.”
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Reddick, who rallied after mechanical trouble early on, gained five points on the leader but sits 106 points out. He equaled his best finish in this year’s Chase, a third-place finish from the pole in the postseason opener last month at Darlington Raceway.
“That pretty much sums up what today was like,” Reddick said of the closing laps. “Just one thing after another for us. Just really proud of everyone’s effort on this Jordan Brand Toyota Camry. We didn’t lose a lap changing the battery there, and we were able to drive back to the front — it just took too long. It put us in a spot where we had to be perfect on that final run, and unfortunately, we had some more mistakes and we came out behind the 5 (Larson) after we got by him in the first part of that run.
“I think ultimately that was the difference. If we could have stayed ahead of him leaving pit road, I think we get to those cars first and maybe don’t burn up as much. I think we could have won today.”