Kyle Larson led 462 of the five hundred laps in a surprising performance to win at Bristol for his fifth victory of the 2024 season. It was also the twenty eighth victory of his profession. He ran eleventh on the track and led more laps than any winner at Bristol since Cale Yarborough almost a half-century ago in 1977.

“I've had numerous good cars since I got here to Hendrick Motorsports, so it's hard to say (if that is one of the best). But man, it was just an amazing execution all weekend by the team. We practiced well. You need to qualify well; we did that. Yeah, we just had an amazing automobile. Thanks to the entire team, Team 5. They're one of the best within the business.
We dominate numerous races but we may not win all of them, so it's good to win here.

“Just a phenomenal car, it could sort of handle my stuff and then really overtake a few cars at the end.”

Race Winner Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro

Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott was second, greater 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 highest 10.

Four drivers also dropped out of the playoffs: Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr., RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton within the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

While Bowman led the race from pole position, Larson quickly moved into the lead and never looked back. He swept the stages and was unrivaled, setting a blistering pace.

Fight to get into the twelfth round

In the fight for promotion, Suarez and Keselowski quickly dropped out of the lead, while Burton was left behind resulting from power steering problems.

The defining moment of the race got here when Corey LaJoie crashed with about 170 laps to go, ending his final start for Spire Motorsports. The field pitted for a final fuel stop, and it was there that the playoff picture modified dramatically. Chase Briscoe had a slow pit stop, nevertheless it was Truex who saw his entire night go up in smoke. Running second, he received a speeding penalty that put him behind the pack. There was no further caution and he remained trapped deep within the back.

The battle for the ultimate transfer spot was between Suarez and Gibbs. While the Trackhouse Racing driver had a dismal night, dropping off several laps and barely ending in the highest 30, Gibbs was racing towards the highest 10. Only 4 points separated them with 100 laps to go, but Gibbs faltered as Suarez gained just a few more places, giving him enough time to secure a spot in Round 12.

When the points are reset for the following round, Larson is back on top of the points standings. The 4 riders at the underside at the moment are Austin Cindric, Suarez, Bowman and Briscoe.

Martin Truex Jr. appeared to be doing every little thing he needed to do to advance to Round 12, closing a good portion of the 14-point deficit he got here into Bristol with by collecting 16 stage points.

It was alleged to be a troublesome fight, but he had a probability to win.

That was until the ultimate pit stop of the night with about 170 laps remaining. Truex was running second and the team made an ideal stop, but MTJ was caught speeding and sent to the back of the pack. The former Cup champion couldn’t break through and stayed outside the highest 20 for the remaining of the race.

“It’s really tough when it’s 0.09 mph, which kind of ruins your chances of having a good season,” Truex said after the race. “I don’t know the way it happened. Honestly, I didn’t even know I used to be that close. It felt like I used to be doing the identical thing I do every other stop. Sometimes you’re only a foot to the left — it’s so tough whenever you’re going from a corner to a straightaway.

“It's my fault, of course. My mistake. They said we'd have to finish second or third to have a chance, and I don't know if we could do that, but it would be nice to see. I just feel really sorry for my guys. They work so hard. We had a really strong car today. We scored a lot of stage points, we did what we had to do there. It's a shame I messed it up. I wish we could have at least seen if we did it. It would have been nice to have a chance to fight.”

Instead, Truex finished twenty fourth at Bristol, 21 points below the cutoff, ending his latest run for a second Cup title in the primary round. He was joined by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs, in addition to Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton. Today's disappointing result’s the most recent chapter in two months of misfortune for Truex, who has not finished higher than twentieth in his last eight races.

“You never like to let anyone down, no matter the situation. I hate that I did it tonight,” he concluded in an interview with NBC.

Parity has at all times been the goal of this generation of cars, and because of this, dominant performances just like the one we saw last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway have turn out to be a rarity. Kyle Larson passed polesitter Alex Bowman just 33 laps into the race and never looked back.

He was not passed again under the green flag and dominated the remaining of the race. Larson’s victory was unlike anything seen at Bristol since 1977, when Cale Yarborough led 495 of the five hundred laps, essentially the most laps ever led by a Hendrick driver in a single race. Did we mention he won each stages?

Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally Chevrolet Camaro and Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro

Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Larson crossed the road just over seven seconds ahead of teammate Chase Elliott, also the most important margin of victory on the half-mile short track in 30 years. As NASCAR nears the tip of its third yr of competition with the Gen-7 automotive, where exactly does that result stand for the reason that automotive’s debut in 2022? Based totally on race-winning laps, listed below are essentially the most dominant victories of the Next Gen era…

5. 2024 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

In Larson’s first win of the 2024 season, the Hendrick driver also won each stages, leading 182 of the 267 laps — 67.8 percent. What’s more impressive is that he didn’t run away with that victory. He battled door-to-door with Ross Chastain on the ultimate restart, then held off a charging Tyler Reddick on the finish line to win by lower than half a second.

Watch: Kyle Larson fends off Tyler Reddick in closing laps to win in Las Vegas

4. 2023 Go bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International

Another case of Hendrick dominance, and it won’t be the last you’ll see on this list. William Byron fell one point wanting a maximum points total in last yr’s event on the New York road course. He took the lead on lap 21 and led 66 of the 90 laps, losing only briefly during a series of pit stops. He crossed the finish line 2.6 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, leading 73.3 percent of the laps that day.

Watch: William Byron Secures First Road Course Victory at Watkins Glen

3. 2022 Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Another performance for Larson, who again won each stages en path to a victory at Homestead in 2022. He led 74.5% of the race, controlling the event for 199 of the 267 laps. The victory was bittersweet, coming every week after being eliminated from the playoffs. However, the victory put the No. 5 automotive within the Championship 4 on the owner’s side.

Watch: Larson on Homestead win: 'Best streak we've had all yr'

2. 2023 Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

The only non-Hendrick driver on this list. In the summer of 2023, Martin Truex Jr. lived as much as his “Mr. Monday” nickname when rain pushed the event to the subsequent day. He dominated each stages and led 254 of the 301 laps on “The Magic Mile” with Joe Gibbs Racing. With the No. 19 Toyota leading 84.4 percent of the laps, he became essentially the most dominant showing of the Next Gen era… until just a few days ago.

Watch: 2023's 'Mr. Monday' Seals Victory in New Hampshire

1. 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Yes, Larson’s win last Saturday night at Bristol tops all of them. With 462 of the five hundred laps led, Larson was in front for 92.4 percent of the race. Once he took the lead from Bowman, there have been essentially no obstacles and he was never passed again under green-flag conditions. It was his most dominant performance (by laps led) since October 2019, when Truex led 92.8 percent (464 of the five hundred laps) at Martinsville Speedway almost five years ago.

Race Winner Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro

Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

“I think when I’m done racing or I’m a Hendrick Motorsports driver and those records are still there, yeah, it’ll mean a lot to me,” Larson said when asked in regards to the records he broke Saturday night. “But for now, you just try to do your job well and the records will take care of themselves, I think. I’m sure I’ll be able to think about that more when I’m on the road.”

It was also essentially the most impressive performance of Larson’s Cup profession. In his 27 previous victories, the closest he’s come is when he’s led 264 of 300 — or 88 percent of the laps at Nashville in 2021. Larson was helped by the dearth of yellow flags on the notoriously action-packed Bristol track, as there have been only three incident-related yellow flags. Only those that finished in the highest 10 remained within the lead on the checkered flag.