“I was surprised”: Christopher Bell reacts to what race winner Kyle Larson ‘gave up’ in Kansas

Kyle Larson bagged his third win of the season at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 11, while Christopher Bell finished second. But there was something that the Elk Grove native did as he was running up front that Bell found surprising.

The last few laps saw an intense battle between Larson, Bell, and former series champion Ryan Blaney. Larson’s dominance prevailed in the end, as he started on pole, led 221 of 267 laps, aced Stages one and two, and marked his second win at the 1.5-mile racetrack.

Bell, who finished 0.712 seconds behind, was surprised when Larson put his car at the bottom of the lane, causing it to decelerate significantly. Remembering that during a post-race interview, the Joe Gibbs Racing icon said (via Speedway Digest):

“I was surprised that he kind of gave up on the top those last couple laps and pulled down. But I was struggling just as bad as he was, so I was just trying to get to the end. I know Ryan (Blaney) was coming on really strong there.”

Ryan Blaney, who drives the No. 12 Team Penske Mustang, finished just 0.832 seconds behind his Hendrick Motorsports rival. He was awarded a P3, marking his fifth top-five performance of the 2025 season.

The drivers will now prepare for the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Scheduled for May 18, the 250-lap event will stream live on FS1, 8 pm ET onwards, with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“I was starting to lose a lot of grip”- Kyle Larson on surviving his chaotic Kansas outing

The AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway proved to be a Kyle Larson overkill. But even the pole sitter was in trouble while pacing through lap traffic.

At one point, Larson felt his right front tire losing rubber rapidly, which might have been why he was losing grip in the long run.

“I'd been struggling a little bit at the end of the runs,” Kyle Larson detailed. “I don't know if it was paying off or not at the end. I was still struggling.”

“I don't know if the right front was starting to wear a lot or what, but I was starting to lose a lot of grip, and then I was vibrating really bad, so I was afraid a right rear or something would let go,” he added.

That said, Kyle Larson is now a 32-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 32-year-old driver sits at the top of the leaderboard with eight top-fives, nine top-10s, and 469 points to his name. His next points-paying race is the Coca-Cola 600 (May 25), an annual crown jewel event he won in 2021.