NASCAR playoffs exit Bristol with Kyle Larson in control again; don’t trust him at Kansas

Yeah, yeah, I know. It was quite tedious. That seems to happen way too often when NASCAR straps in at a short-track venue. 

But you know who loved it?

Kyle Larson, who led a staggering 462 of the 500 laps at Bristol, where polite nights of follow-the-leader didn’t build that track’s reputation.

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You know who else was OK with it after the final laps clicked away? Let’s go with Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe. All four of those drivers were on plenty of lists of potential Round of 16 exits, but all four made it.

Meanwhile, parting gifts for Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton as the Round of 12 begins Sunday at Kansas with them in bystander roles.

First Gear: Don’t bet on Larson at Kansas

Kyle Larson has now won five races in 2025 and remains the perceived gold standard in modern driver ability.

The man has street cred. Ovals, too. Seems like every time he wins, folks say something along the lines of, “Well, of course he won. Best driver. Best team. He’ll probably ride to the championship in cruise-control.”

Here’s the problem with that theory, in numbers:

14

34

34

7

Those were his finishing positions the week after his first four wins of this season (the week after that seventh, by the way, came another 34th). He’s the guy on your bowling team who always follows a strike with an open frame.

Of course, in many of his non-wins, he’s overachieved in stage points and now leads the playoff standings and enjoys a 39-point cushion over the next looming cut line.

Second Gear: So, you liked the old days better?

Good to see the late, great Cale Yarborough get some recognition this past weekend. Larson’s 462 laps led at Bristol was the most at that track since Cale led 495 of the 500 laps in 1977. You read it right: 495, which is a career number of laps led for many decent racers.

Next time you find yourself in a group of gray-headed stock-car fans, mention Cale and his contemporaries and it won’t be long before they start reminiscing about the good ol’ days.

Well, let’s revisit that one particular good ol’ day in April of ’77. Know who ran second to Cale? Dick Brooks. He was seven laps down! Richard Petty was nine laps down in third.

Saturday night at Bristol, just 10 drivers finished on the lead lap, which isn’t extremely low for a half-mile track but low compared to most races.

Wanna know who finished 10th in ’77? It was 21-year-old Ricky Rudd. He was 35 laps down and eight laps ahead of 11th-place finisher Janet Guthrie.

Third Gear: No glorious sendoff for Truex

You want irony?

Who had Martin Truex’s playoffs ending due to him going too fast? Show of hands, please? That’s what I thought.

Truex’s nearly desperate attempt to make the Round of 12 disappeared when he was sent deep in the field due to speeding on Pit Road. You think Johnny Law at your neighborhood speed trap is unforgiving? Truex was less than a tenth of a mile-an-hour over the allowed speed: 0.09 is how it reads on the arresting affidavit. So to speak.

Anyway, who saw his Round of 16 exit coming? Everybody. Or at least they should’ve. He hadn’t finished better than 20th in two months of Sundays — since mid-July at Pocono. Remember, he was leading the point standings through seven races, and was second through 14.

You can analyze the possible reasons if you want, but bottom line is, retiring racers almost never go out with the wind at their back.

Truex’s teammate Ty Gibbs suffered the same fate. Caught speeding in the pits, shuffled back in the field and eventually out of the playoffs. Later, he channeled Capt. Obvious to explain the speeding penalty.

“The speeding penalty is on me. My fault.”

Well, yeah, hard to pin that one on the invisible hitchhiker riding shotgun.

Fourth Gear: More drama as Xfinity Series cranks playoffs

Fewer drivers (12) and fewer races (seven) but basically the same system as the Xfinity Series begins racing for a championship this weekend at Kansas.

Here’s your 12-pack of Xfinity drivers racing for a championship: Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Shane van Gisbergen, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Sheldon Creek, AJ Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, Parker Kligerman.

After a “normal” race on the Kansas oval, the Round of 12 goes to Talladega and the Charlotte Roval, which opens up the possibility for an Allmendinger or van Gisbergen to grab a win and make the Round of 8.

Meanwhile, the Truck Series completes its Round of 10 at Kansas. Just two of the 10 playoff racers will be eliminated before the Round of 8 embarks.

— Reach Ken Willis at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Larson a NASCAR stud again; playoffs to Kansas; Truex too fast?