Kyle Larson Wins at Homestead in Dominating Fashion

Terry Renna - Associated Press

HOMESTEAD, FL – RIS – For The second straight race, Kyle Larson found that he was dominating the headlines, but this was a good headline.  Last weekend, it was all about the contact with Bubba Wallace.  This week was about a dominating win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Larson was rarely out of the lead on Sunday, but another bump threatened his victory.

On the final pitstop, Larson was following then leader Martin Truex, Jr. when Truex braked to get in his pit, Larson hit the back of his car and turned it around backwards on pit road.  Neither driver took total blame for the miscue, but even entering the race behind in a race he had led many laps, he ran down Truex and held off Ross Chastain to seal the victory.

Larson led 199 of the 267 laps of the race.  Sometimes he was nearing a double-digit lead in seconds in the, but Chastain was also running well.  It wasn’t enough on this day. 

The four-car field for the title race will be decided next week in Martinsville, with seven drivers heading there to compete for three remaining spots. Only Joey Logano, through his win at Las Vegas last week, has his berth clinched.

Hamlin is on the wrong side of the cutline going into Martinsville. Chastain is second, Chase Elliott is third and William Byron is fourth.

Hamlin is five points behind Byron, followed by Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in eighth. Among the playoff drivers, after runner-up Chastain, Hamlin was seventh, Bell 11th, Byron 12th, Elliott 14th, Blaney 17th, Logano 18th and Briscoe 36th in the 36-car field.

Martinsville looms.  The half-mile flat track is difficult to maneuver, and known for bumping and nudging around it’s paper clip pavement.

“Track position’s going to be so huge,” Hamlin said. “You’re going to see aggressive driving.”

Hamlin is on the wrong side of the cutline going into Martinsville. Chastain is second, Chase Elliott is third and William Byron is fourth.

Hamlin is five points behind Byron, followed by Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in eighth.

Among the playoff drivers, after runner-up Chastain, Hamlin was seventh, Bell 11th, Byron 12th, Elliott 14th, Blaney 17th, Logano 18th and Briscoe 36th in the 36-car field.

Disappointed was Chase Briscoe, who crashed out in the second stage, bouncing off the wall, like many others which didn’t include Larson who seemed to be only missing it by the thickness of a piece of paper.

Next week’s race at Martinsville will determine which four driver will run for the championship at Phoenix Raceway.  Buckle your seatbelts.  It might be a wild event.

Unofficial Results: 24th Annual Dixie Vodka 400, October 23, 2022 - Homestead-Miami Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps , St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 5, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet, 267, 1, 1, 5, 199, 7, 60, Running
2) 20, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet, 267, , 8, , , , 38, Running
3) 10, AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Ed Morse Automotive Group Chevrolet, 267, 6, , , , , 0, Running
4) 32, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Chevrolet, 267, 5, , , , , 39, Running
5) 9, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Violet Defense Ford, 267, 7, 5, , , , 42, Running
6) 12, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 267, 3, 2, 2, 28, , 48, Running
7) 14, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 267, , 10, 1, 4, , 31, Running
8) 16, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 267, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 11, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Lime is Back Toyota, 267, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 23, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Princess Cruises Chevrolet, 267, , 7, , , , 31, Running
11) 2, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Rheem - WATTS Toyota, 267, , , 1, 4, , 26, Running
12) 1, William Byron (P), No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 267, 2, 3, 3, 32, , 42, Running
13) 8, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 267, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 3, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 267, 8, 6, , , , 31, Running
15) 27, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Slim Jim Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 18, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 267, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 13, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, 267, 9, 4, , , , 29, Running
18) 17, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 267, 10, 9, , , , 22, Running
19) 26, Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Freightliner Ford, 267, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 21, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 267, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 28, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Premium Bacon Ford, 267, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 6, Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota, 267, , , , , , 0, Running
23) 31, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Built.com Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 25, Cole Custer, No. 41 Dixie Vodka Ford, 266, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 24, Noah Gragson(i), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 0, Running
26) 30, Ty Dillon, No. 42 SunseekerResorts.com Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 4, John Hunter Nemechek(i), No. 45 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota, 266, , , , , , 0, Running
28) 15, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 33, Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Zeigler Auto/LoJack Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 22, Erik Jones, No. 43 The Morgan Law Group Chevrolet, 264, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 29, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 EO South Florida Ford, 264, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 34, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Jacob Companies Ford, 263, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 35, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 MSG Frankie Zombie Ford, 262, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 36, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford, 262, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 7, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 242, 4, , , , , 9, Accident
36) 19, Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford, 160, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Distance: 267 Laps, 400.5 Miles
Time: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 24 Secs.
Speed: 129.612 mph

Margin of Victory: 1.261 sec
Stage 1 Top 10: 5, 24, 19, 8, 3, 16, 6, 9, 12, 22
Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 19, 24, 12, 6, 9, 99, 1, 22, 11

Comments: Kyle Larson won the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his 19th career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: No. 7 and 38 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 5 for 30 laps;
Laps: 31-35 (No. 45 Incident on the Backstretch [78]);
82-87 (Stage 1 Conclusion [41]);
162-170 (Debris in Turn 2 [17]);
212-216 (No. 12 Spin in Turn 1 [22]);
246-250 (No. 8 Incident in Turn 2 [34]).

Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers;
W. Byron (P) 1-26;
K. Larson (P) 27-32;
W. Byron (P) 33-37;
K. Larson (P) 38-87;
W. Byron (P) 88;
K. Larson (P) 89-122;
C. Bell (P) 123-126;
K. Larson (P) 127-213;
M. Truex Jr. 214-216;
D. Hamlin (P) 217-220;
M. Truex Jr. 221-245;
K. Larson (P) 246-267.

Unofficial Points: 24th Annual Dixie Vodka 400 - Homestead-Miami Speedway
Pos) Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Joey Logano (P), 22, 34, 0, 4106, 0, 0, 3, 6, 26
2) Ross Chastain (P), 1, 34, 0, 4101, -5, 5, 2, 6, 21
3) Chase Elliott (P), 9, 34, 0, 4093, -13, 8, 5, 6, 46
4) William Byron (P), 24, 34, 1, 4087, -19, 6, 2, 4, 15
5) Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 34, -1, 4082, -24, 5, 2, 3, 13
6) Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 34, 1, 4069, -37, 13, 0, 8, 15
7) Christopher Bell (P), 20, 34, 1, 4054, -52, 15, 2, 4, 18
8) Chase Briscoe (P), 14, 34, -2, 4043, -63, 11, 1, 4, 9
9) Kyle Larson (P), 5, 34, 0, 2266, -1840, 1777, 3, 6, 20
10) Daniel Suarez, 99, 34, 0, 2230, -1876, 36, 1, 2, 7
11) Austin Dillon, 3, 34, 2, 2200, -1906, 30, 1, 0, 5
12) Tyler Reddick, 8, 34, -1, 2195, -1911, 5, 3, 2, 17
13) Austin Cindric #, 2, 34, -1, 2187, -1919, 8, 1, 1, 6
14) Kyle Busch, 18, 34, 0, 2186, -1920, 1, 1, 3, 10
15) Alex Bowman, , 30, 0, 2104, -2002, 82, 1, 2, 7
16) Kevin Harvick, 4, 34, 0, 2064, -2042, 40, 2, 0, 12
17) Martin Truex Jr, 19, 34, 0, 984, -3122, 1080, 0, 7, 0
18) Erik Jones, 43, 34, 0, 789, -3317, 195, 1, 0, 5
19) Aric Almirola, 10, 34, 1, 720, -3386, 69, 0, 0, 0
20) Bubba Wallace, , 33, -1, 719, -3387, 1, 1, 2, 5
21) Chris Buescher, 17, 33, 0, 698, -3408, 21, 1, 0, 5
22) Justin Haley, 31, 34, 0, 679, -3427, 19, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 34, 34, 0, 631, -3475, 48, 0, 0, 0
24) Brad Keselowski, 6, 34, 0, 626, -3480, 5, 0, 1, 1
25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 34, 0, 560, -3546, 66, 0, 0, 0
26) Cole Custer, 41, 34, 0, 530, -3576, 30, 0, 0, 0
27) Harrison Burton #, 21, 34, 0, 529, -3577, 1, 0, 0, 0
28) Ty Dillon, 42, 34, 1, 501, -3605, 28, 0, 0, 0
29) Todd Gilliland #, 38, 34, -1, 499, -3607, 2, 0, 0, 0
30) Kurt Busch, , 20, 0, 485, -3621, 14, 1, 2, 0
31) Corey LaJoie, 7, 34, 0, 431, -3675, 54, 0, 0, 0
32) Cody Ware, 51, 33, 0, 289, -3817, 142, 0, 0, 0
33) David Ragan, , 4, 0, 89, -4017, 200, 0, 0, 0
34) Joey Hand, , 6, 0, 64, -4042, 25, 0, 0, 0
35) Greg Biffle, , 5, 0, 24, -4082, 40, 0, 0, 0
36) Jacques Villeneuve, , 1, 0, 15, -4091, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Mike Rockenfeller, , 2, 0, 15, -4091, 0, 0, 0, 0
38) Boris Said, , 1, 0, 11, -4095, 4, 0, 0, 0
39) Kyle Tilley, , 2, 0, 8, -4098, 3, 0, 0, 0
40) Conor Daly, , 1, 0, 3, -4103, 5, 0, 0, 0
41) Kimi Raikkonen, , 1, 0, 1, -4105, 2, 0, 0, 0
42) AJ Allmendinger(i), 16, 16, 0, 0, -4106, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Landon Cassill(i), 77, 15, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Noah Gragson(i), 48, 17, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
45) BJ McLeod(i), 78, 27, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Daniel Hemric(i), , 8, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Ty Gibbs(i), 23, 14, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Josh Bilicki(i), , 16, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Zane Smith(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Austin Hill(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Garrett Smithley(i), , 5, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) JJ Yeley(i), 15, 18, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Kaz Grala(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Josh Williams(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Ryan Preece(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) John Hunter Nemechek(i), 45, 1, 0, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 00
57) Justin Allgaier(i), , 2, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Parker Kligerman(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Loris Hezemans(i), , 5, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Scott Heckert(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Daniil Kvyat, , 3, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
62) Andy Lally(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
63) Timmy Hill(i), , 0, -1, 0, -4106, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Ron Fleshman and John Davison

Ron Fleshman and John Davison are Senior Editors at ris-news.com

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Volume 2022, Issue 10, Posted 7:44 PM, 10.23.2022