“It’s a bummer”: Kyle Larson looks back at slim margins after coming close to victory in consecutive weeks

Last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson was in the lead as the race entered overtime due to a late-race caution. William Byron, another member of the Hendrick Motorsports squad, raced Larson down the pit road, overtook the leader Martin Truex Jr., and then held off Larson to take the victory.

After Kyle Larson and Byron were dominating much of the race on Sunday (March 12) at Phoenix Raceway, Kevin Harvick seemed to be on his way to victory until a late-race yellow forced everyone to pit road.

This time, Larson started first after Byron and he both used two new tires. Harvick was the first driver to use four new tires and started from position seven. A second incident on the restart put the race into overtime, where Byron overtook Larson with one lap remaining and held off Ryan Blaney to win for the second time in a row with the help of Tyler Reddick's advice.

The 2021 series winner Kyle Larson struggled to accept the result, but he remained disappointed. Larson has been in contention to win a race late on for two weeks in a row, but both times he lost to the same Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

Kyle Larson said that he believed he drove in deep enough on the restart to free up Byron in the top groove, but Ryan Blaney's move to the inside temporarily caused him to drive three wide. He stated (via Motorsport):

“I think that top lane just got a little bit better the last 50 laps or so. I didn’t run in far enough and ended up getting beat."

He then continued:

“It’s a bummer, but William again executed the last two races a little bit better than I did. Congrats to him and their team. We’ll try to keep these good runs up.”

On Sunday, Kyle Larson came very close to sealing off an ideal weekend. He claimed pole position for the race on Sunday after setting the quickest time in Friday's practice and the first round of qualifying on Saturday.

He also drove the most laps (201). He has led a total of 264 laps over the previous two races, finishing second and fourth, and is now ranked fifth in the standings.

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William Byron defeats Kyle Larson once again to win the Phoenix Cup

William Byron returned in overtime for the second week in a row to win the race by regaining the lead he had earlier given up. When a late-race warning at Phoenix Raceway for a spin by Harrison Burton forced all the lead-lap cars to pit road, Kevin Harvick seemed to be in control and headed for the victory.

Only two new tires were used by the top six, including Byron, but Kyle Larson was the first driver to leave the pits. Due to a two-tire pit stop, Larson was the first driver off pit road among the lead-lap cars.

Martin Truex Jr. had to start from the back of the race after being fined for speeding on pit road. Seventh-placed Harvick was the first driver off pit road with four fresh tires.

William Byron made the pass to reclaim the lead and win the United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on the last restart in NASCAR Overtime.