Kyle Larson Breaks Two Massive Stats in NASCAR Cup Kansas Win

From the drop of the green flag, Kyle Larson was the man to beat in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

The driver of the No. 5 was only passed once under a green flag run when Chase Briscoe took command with 30 circuits remaining. However, “Yung Money” would not be denied in the fourth race of the Chase as he regained control with 11 laps to go.

Larson led 235 of 267 laps, breaking his own all-time record for most laps led at the Kansas Speedway. The defending Cup champion’s previous record was 221 laps led in his May 2025 Kansas victory.

On his way to the checkered flag, Larson passed Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 19th on the all-time laps led list in NASCAR. In his 13th full-time Cup Series season, Larson has led 11,480 laps.

Kyle Larson reacts after dominant Kansas win

When Briscoe made his way past Larson for the top spot, the 34-year-old thought his chances of winning were over.

The Hendrick Motorsports star would have been content with placing runner-up after leading the most laps and sweeping both stages, but he was still in it to win it.

Once Larson found a groove, he was able to march his way back to the front and power past Briscoe for the win.

In his post-race interview with USA Network, Larson said oftentimes it is better to be the one chasing the lead rather than the one holding it.

“I got some lines going where I could just kinda settle in and try to take care of my tires. I don’t know, I think it’s just easier to be the hunter rather than the hunted. I think a lot of the same with me out front. I’m just defending and trying to guess what lines are fast and when he got in front of me, I could see he started to get really loose. That was fun,” Larson said.

The win was Larson’s second of the 2026 Cup Series season, fourth career win at Kansas Speedway and 34th career win overall in the Cup Series. Larson’s 34th career triumph tied him 26th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

Larson takes huge points leads advantage after dominant Kansas win

As the Cup Series Chase began, Larson was the seventh seed and winless through the regular season. Four races in, it is clear the defending Cup champion has found a second gear.

Larson has finished no worse than fifth in the first four races of the Chase with wins at World Wide Technology Raceway and at Kansas Speedway. Once seventh in the standings, Larson now leads the points with a 26-point advantage over second place Denny Hamlin.

With the win, both stage victories and the fastest lap of the race, Larson scored a maximum 76 points on Sunday.

Although Larson would have been satisfied to finish second based on the massive points day he already had, he knew a win would be massive.

“I was going to be happy with second with how the race went but to get the lead, that’s a big deal for the points. Proud of my team,” Larson said.

Larson is seeking his third NASCAR Cup Series title and aims to be the first back-to-back Cup champion since Jimmie Johnson’s five-year championship stretch (2006-2010).

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post Kyle Larson Breaks Two Massive Stats in NASCAR Cup Kansas Win appeared first on HEAVY.

Read the full article here