Kyle Larson didn’t skip a beat at his hometown track.
After sweeping all stages of the Coca-Cola 600 last weekend in Charlotte, he did the same Sunday, winning NASCAR’s Cup race at Sonoma — and all three stages — by leading a race-high 58 laps of 92 total for his third victory this season.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished second and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. finished third.
“To get back-to-back wins in the Cup Series is something I’ve always dreamt of doing,” Larson said on FS1. “And to get it done feels great.”
If Larson’s biggest battles were with his teammates at Charlotte, the No. 5’s greatest threat at Sonoma were his tires on the unforgiving, 12-turn Carousel course through multiple late-race restarts that sent the field into a two-lap overtime.
After each one of the four caution flags in the final 20 laps, Larson’s crew chief Cliff Daniels reminded the driver to preserve his tires, while feeding other updates on the No. 9 car driven by Elliott and the No. 19 driven by Truex around him. Larson’s response to Daniels was quick each time — “OK.”
His car was even quicker. Larson pulled away after every restart, resuming the lead on Lap 76, and led Elliott by 0.6 seconds at the checkered flag for the fourth Hendrick 1-2 finish in a row.
“It was not easy,” Larson said. “Any road course isn’t easy. Just trying to keep it on track is tough, especially when you’ve got two of the best behind you on the last restart.”
An incident in Turn 4 involving Anthony Alfredo, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman bunched the field together for what could have been a dramatic overtime finish, but the No. 5 was too fast. When asked what the difference was between his car and Larson’s on the FS1 broadcast post-race, Elliott wasn’t sure.
“I wish I knew,” Elliott said. “I would’ve tried to give him a little bit of a better run.”
The defending Cup champion congratulated his teammate after a race in which the two solidified what could be a longstanding rivalry this season. Larson and Elliott have finished in the top-two in the last three races.
Hendrick driver Bowman also finished in the top-10, in ninth, after he was involved in earlier incidents, while the team’s fourth driver William Byron crashed out after contact with Kevin Harvick for Byron’s first DNF in 16 races. His lowest finish prior to Sunday since the Daytona road course race in February was 11th at Circuit of the Americas.
A mix of strategies and tire troubles played out, but the constant was Larson zipping through the field. It took Larson just 13 laps to race from out of the top-20 to first place in the final stage after pitting while others stayed out on different fuel strategies.
Daniels said he stuck with his team’s pit strategy through the race, but credited Larson with driving through the unpredictable late restarts.
The hardest racing of the evening was again between teammates as Larson and Elliott, along with Elliott and Byron, battled at various points for track position. Gibbs had three drivers finish in the top-10, with Kyle Busch finishing fifth and Denny Hamlin in eighth.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano finished in fourth and led five laps, while teammate Ryan Blaney finished 10th.
