“It’ll eventually work out”: Kyle Larson stays positive after “unfortunate” turnaround at Talladega

Kyle Larson could have won Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega and advanced into the championship round. He had the car, the crew, and just the perfect spot for the final restart. However, Larson had to bail out, thanks to a dry fuel tank.

The day ended with a disappointing P26 finish for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion. William Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, finished one spot ahead of him after being pushed past by a Toyota-led charge. As things stand, Larson, a 32-time Cup race winner, is the last driver above the cutline, while Byron is the first driver below the mark.

With a 36-point cushion on the elimination line, Larson has chosen to stay positive. After the race was over and Chase Briscoe was crowned the winner, Larson told NBC Sports:

“Just unfortunate that it didn’t work out there. It started giving me a warning there in the middle of 1 and 2 and down the back it started stumbling, so I just got out of the way.”

“It’s probably one of the more bummer superspeedway finishes I’ve had just because we were once again in contention, and it was right where I wanted to be, but it didn’t work out, so we’ll keep putting ourselves in contention, and it’ll eventually work out," he added.

Ahead of next week’s race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Larson seems trapped in a precarious situation. His spot relative to Byron’s is better, but his chances of making the Championship 4 are still wobbly.

All four drivers sitting below the cutline are past winners at Martinsville. If any of them wins next week, Larson’s chances of advancing into his third Championship 4 will only get thinner.

“You’ve got to assume that one of those guys below the cutline is going to win (at Martinsville),” Kyle Larson continued. “They’re all really good there.”

Fans can watch it all pan out on the Virginian short track next Sunday (October 26). The 500-lap event will be televised on Peacock (2 pm ET) with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Kyle Larson’s bid for glory in his 400th Cup start ends with Talladega mishap

Heading to Talladega, Kyle Larson was all set to join an elite list of winners, including Lee Petty, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dave Marcis, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson. It could have been his first superspeedway victory in his 400th career start in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Winning the YellaWood 500 would have made Larson the seventh driver to win in his 400th Cup start. Hoping to clinch his first-ever victory at the tri-oval superspeedway, Larson said (via Yahoo Sports):

“It would be pretty neat. I would like to go to, like, Bristol for my 400th start, but it would be extra special to get my first win on a superspeedway in my 400th career start. It would be awesome. We will give it our best effort tomorrow and hopefully join that list of Hall of Famers.”

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Kyle Larson’s 400th start resulted in a 26th-place finish, his worst performance since Bristol in September, where he finished 32nd. All eyes are now on Martinsville, where Larson has led 255 laps and amassed five top fives and six top-10s.