Kyle Larson wins at Las Vegas, clinches spot in Championship 4 [Watch Now]
Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg recaps Sunday's running of the South Point 400 - where Larson took another step towards a possible second Cup Series title in three years.
Video Transcript
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NICK BROMBERG: Kyle Larson clinched a spot in NASCAR's Final Four with a win at Las Vegas on Sunday. Larson won the first two stages and held off a late charge from Christopher Bell over the final five laps of the race. Bell cut into Larson's lead as the laps ticked down and got to Larson's bumper before the finish line. But Bell needed one more lap to have a shot at a race winning pass.
Larson's best move of the race came in the second stage when he made an incredible save after his car got loose off turn two. Larson somehow kept his car from spinning out and didn't lose too much track position. Though he got very lucky a few laps later when he could change tires under yellow after his teammate Alex Bowman crashed.
Larson is set to race for his second title in three seasons after he was signed by Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season following his firing from Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson now has 17 wins with Hendrick in less than three seasons. There wasn't much separation among playoff drivers behind Larson either. While he and Bell were the only two playoff drivers in the top five, spots six through 11 were occupied by the six other drivers still racing for the title.
Martin Truex Junior rebounded from a bad mid-race strategy call to finish ninth, and he's tied with Denny Hamlin for third in the points standings behind Larson and William Byron. Bell is two points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Hamlin and Truex, ahead of the second race of the third round at Homestead.