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The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and Busch Light Pole Award winner for Sunday's race at Phoenix Raceway, Kyle Larson was touted as the driver to look out for in Arizona. The #5 Chverolet Camaro ZL1 driver was believed to have the fastest car on the 1-mile-long oval in Avondale, Arizona, having led most of the race alongside his pole award in qualifying on Saturday.
However, Sunday's 312-mile-long race saw the win slip away from Larson's grasp after a late-race caution flag and restart meant he was left vulnerable to cars behind him, particularly to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick was also seen advancing across the field. Among the favorites to win the 317-lap-long race, Harvick missed out on the win after a four-tire pitstop meant he dropped behind the leaders.
The showdown in the final laps of the race saw Byron overtake Kyle Larson on the outside in a bold move, not afraid of repurcutions if either of them were to make contact with each other. Larson spoke about how he tried to defend his position from Byron, and ultimately congratulated him on his win and said:
"I ran William up pretty high, I was expecting him to lose some grip. But he did a really good job of holding it to my outside, clearing me down the back."
Kyle Larson elaborated on how he got a poor launch on the final restart of the race which ultimately decided the winner, and said:
"I actually got a bad launch, I spun my tires but it ended up working out for me where the #12 (Ryan Blaney) hit me. He couldn't pull out to pass me. It actually propelled me forward, I though that was going to be what I needed to hold off William (Byron)."
Kyle Larson gives his opinion on late-race caution flags
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson has been one of the unluckiest drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series field lately, with potential victories taken away from him due to restarts late in the race. In an interview with NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, Larson elaborated on the same and said:
"I mean, a part of you is not surprised, especially me. I like feeel like I gotta have 8 or 10 more Cup wins."
Watch Larson try and break his winless streak at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.
