NOT CANCELLED: Larson wins again, this time $1 million for All-Star Race at Texas

Chip Ganassi and ‘The Cancel Culture’ tried to cancel Kyle Larson in 2020.

Kyle Larson had other ideas.

Kyle Larson won Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway, collecting the $1 million prize in the final 10-lap shootout. It was Larson’s 4th win of the season, more than any other driver as he continues to school the rest of the NASCAR Cup field of drivers.

Larson won the first and last of the six rounds in the unique All-Star format, leading 17 of the 100 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It was his second All-Star win, adding to the invitational victory he claimed at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2019.

Larson was part of a wild three-wide move for the race lead with eight laps remaining – himself and runner-up Brad Keselowski splitting the car driven by Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott to make the move forward.

Larson pulled his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in front of the field and while Keselowski was able to get to his bumper a couple times thereafter, the Penske driver was unable to make a pass in the closing laps of the race.

It was a thrilling finish to a new six-segment 100-lap race format – with no NASCAR Cup Series championship points on the line, but plenty of bragging rights to claim. Larson’s other All Star Race win came in 2019 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is one of only eight drivers in NASCAR history to win multiple All Star races.

This is Larson’s third consecutive victory on the schedule – counting wins at the previous two regular season races – at Charlotte and Sonoma. He has three points-paying wins and sits second in the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

“It was wild,” a smiling Larson said from Texas’s victory lane. “This format set up for an exciting finish and there was a lot of grip on this race track for us to be passing. It was a helluva race from my seat.”

Fans in the packed grandstands apparently agreed – standing on their feet for much of the night and definitely during the final frenetic laps.

“That last restart worked out exactly how I needed it to,” Larson elaborated later. “I wanted Chase [Elliott] to not get a good run down the back. Thankfully, I think the 12 [Blaney] got to his inside and I just shoved him down the back and he probably thought I was going to just follow him and I was like, ‘there’s got to be enough grip where we’d be running for one corner.’

“It was a little slick up there, but I was able to get it and then hold him off from there,” the 28-year old Californian continued with a smile. “I can’t believe it.”

“Honestly, I can’t believe it. That second run there, we were really bad, and I was like, ‘man, we’re in trouble’. I went backwards that round, so I was like we’ve got an uphill battle. I did not imagine seeing myself winning this race today. Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and everybody works so hard on this thing and made some good adjustments throughout the first, second and third rounds and got us in position.”

“That last restart worked out exactly how I needed it to. I wanted Chase (Elliott) to not get a good run down the back. Thankfully, I think the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney) got to his inside. I just shoved him down the back, and he probably thought I was going to just follow him. I thought there had to be enough grip above where we’d been running for one corner. It was a little slick up there, but I was able to get it and hold him off from there. I can’t believe it.”

Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron and Chase Elliott won the other rounds as all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers claimed round wins.

Brad Keselowski finished second overall in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, with Elliott coming home third. Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports crew also pocketed a $100,000 bonus for recording the fastest service during the mandatory four-tire pit stop in Round 5.

“It feels like just to run second to the Hendrick cars right now is kind of an accomplishment,” said Keselowski. “They’re just stupid fast, and I had him off of Turn 4 but they just have so much speed. He just motored right on back by me, like damn.

“But feels like a first-in-class day with the Discount Tire Ford. Jeremy Bullins and the team did a great job of executing and getting us in position. We just didn’t have enough speed to make the most of it, but good execution day and I’m proud of that.”

Larson started the All-Star Race first after a random draw for initial starting spots and led nine of the first 15 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, gaining an edge in the cumulative scoring that determined the lineup for later rounds.

The All-Star Race took place at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track for the first time.

The final 10-lap run, however, was every bit the wild and competitive flair expected for the sport’s annual All Star feature. Blaney, who restarted from the second row in that segment made a daring move toward the lead at the at the final green flag dueling with Elliott and Larson.

And Keselowski briefly took the lead while he and Larson negotiated their three-wide move around Elliott, only to have Larson claim the lead right back. He led 17 of the 100 laps on the evening, most importantly the final seven.

“It feels like just to run second to the Hendrick cars right now is kind of an accomplishment,” Keselowski said. “They’re just stupid fast, and I had him off Turn 4 but they just have so much speed. He just motored right on back by me.

“But feels like a first-in-class day with the Discount Tire Ford. [Crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the team did a great of executing and getting us in position. We just didn’t have enough speed to make the most of it, but good execution day and I’m proud of that.”

Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Almirola advanced to the featured All Star Race by way of The Open – a 50-lap qualifier held earlier in the evening. Chastain and Reddick won stages and Almirola winning the last stage for the victory. Wood Brothers Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto advanced to The All Star race by virtue of fan vote and finished 17th.

“Yeah, I get to race with my heroes,” said round 1 winner Chastain. “It’s really cool. It’s been a good weekend on-track, but off-track has obviously been really tough. It just fired me up more, though. This McDonald’s Chevy was obviously really good to come from the back like that and race with guys like (Tyler) Reddick and those guys. I thought I was getting turned on the backstretch there when he drove in the left rear.”

“It’s a dream come true. I’m living my dream as a farmer and now I get to go NASCAR racing in the All-Star Race with my heroes. It’s amazing.”

“We really have to think about that here over the next couple of minutes,” said round 2 winner Reddick. “It’s kind of disappointing to give it up there to Ross (Chastain) at the end of the first segment. I was really hoping to just get this iCashautos Chevrolet into the All-Star Race. It looked like he was there, but I was too loose to really pull up there and block, so I just played the safe bet and let him go by. Thankfully, we executed in the second segment and got in the race.”

“You mentioned the heat – wow, that was the hottest 40-lap race I’ve ever done. That was hot.”

Race Results

Average Speed of Race Winner:  84.919 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 45 Mins, 59 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.206 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 0 laps.

Lead Changes:  10 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Busch 1-6;K. Larson 7-15;R. Blaney 16-30;M. DiBenedetto 31-36;A. Bowman 37-45;W. Byron 46-75;B. Keselowski 76-79;C. Elliott 80-91;B. Keselowski 92;K. Larson 93-100.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  William Byron 1 time for 30 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 17 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 15 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 12 laps; Alex Bowman 1 time for 9 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 6 laps; Matt DiBenedetto 1 time for 6 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 5 laps.