“Did everything we could”: Kyle Larson on failing to secure a victory for Hendrick Motorsports

Kyle Larson admitted to his shortcomings after a hard-fought battle with the Toyota drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He acknowledged Toyota's short-run pace and shared that his team 'did everything' to overcome it.

Larson was the most dominant driver on Sunday's South Point 400. Despite starting outside the top five, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had a 129-lap lead and secured a stage win as well.

However, Denny Hamlin's final pit stop with four fresh tires gave him the much-needed advantage against Larson. The No.11 driver passed Larson on the outside and took the lead from Chase Briscoe with four laps to go. He crossed the finish line 1.533 seconds ahead of Larson in second place. Notably, the No.5 team was the only Chevy among a fleet of Toyotas in the top five.

In an interview with PRNlive, Larson admitted defeat and said,

"I felt like we did everything we could. The Toyota's were really fast there for the short run. I felt like I was doing all I could. We just came up a little bit short,"

Kyle Larson also credited Denny Hamlin for his unorthodox racing style.

"Yeah, he did an awesome job.… I tried to take his line away in three and four. He got to my outside. Rarely do you see Denny do that. He did a great job. Hats off to them,” he said via NBC Sports.

Hamlin and Larson have finished among the top two eight times now. Moreover, the result marks Hamlin's 60th career win and his series-best sixth win of the season.

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Kyle Larson remains cautious about the points situation

Kyle Larson's stage win helped his points tally, keeping him second with 35 points above the cutline. JGR's Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe trail him by a 15 and 20-point deficit, respectively. However, Larson doesn't believe he has an advantage over his competition.

"We’ll just try and go and execute like we have been this year at those places. Hopefully, we can have another good points day, and maybe Martinsville will be a little bit easier. I know right now it shows plus 35; somebody below the cut line wins. It’s a lot less. Playoff is crazy," he said via aforementioned source.

Kyle Larson remains the only Chevy driver among the top four candidates. His HMS teammate, William Byron, looked on pace for a top-five finish, if not a race win, but was met with a head-on crash on lap 235. He ran through Ty Dillon's rear when the RCR driver abruptly slowed down to enter the pits.

Byron had just conceded the lead to Larson three laps prior. The result took him fifteen points below the cutline, while Chase Elliott trails him in sixth.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna