Kyle Larson passed Joey Logano with 29 laps to go and won his second Cup Series race of the season Sunday at Martinsville Speedway on a day NASCAR welcomed Chase Elliott.
Logano, who was forced to start the race in the back of the field after his team found a leak in his water tank before the start, finished second, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
Larson put an end to some frustration at a track he said doesn’t suit his driving style, celebrating with a burnout on most of the clip-like half-mile track.
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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway on April 16, 2023 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
«I never thought I would be here,» Larson said.
Logano said he tried to hold off Larson as much as he could, but wasn’t upset about finishing second.
It was Larson’s 21st Cup Series win and his 15th win in the last three seasons.
Elliott, voted NASCAR’s most popular driver of the past five years, finished 10th in his first race since breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident that forced him to miss six weeks.
Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway on April 16, 2023 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Since he’s so far behind in the points race, Elliott likely needs a win to make the playoffs. He qualified 24th for Sunday’s race.
Polesitter Ryan Preece dominated early, leading the first 136 laps before a costly pit lane speeding penalty sent him to the back of the field. He never challenged again.
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After winning his first career Cup Series pole position on Saturday, Preece added another first to resume as he took his maiden stage win. Preece, 32, had led just 29 laps in his entire Cup career before Sunday.
HARD LUCK
Kevin Harvick, the second stage winner, ran near the front for most of the day until his right front tire gave out due to a blown rim with 53 laps to go. Harvick had been looking for the 61st win of his Cup Series career and his first since last August.
WITHOUT HAIL MELON
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Ford Realtree/Hunt Brothers Pizza, Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Chevrolet Unishippers, Chase Briscoe, driver of the #14 HighPoint.com Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of #11 Sport Clips Toyota Haircuts , race during the NASCAR Cup Series NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway on April 16, 2023 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
The last time Ross Chastain was at Martinsville, he pulled off the «Hail Melon» move by slinging around the outside wall in turns three and four to pass Denny Hamlin and secure a spot in the «final four» round of the NASCAR playoffs. .
There was no video game movement this time as NASCAR banned the movement and Chastain was not a major factor on Sunday, finishing 13th.
THE SUSPENSION COMES
Two of Anthony Alfredo’s crew members can expect two-race suspensions this week after the No. 78 Chevrolet lost a tire on the front stretch during the race with about 98 laps remaining.
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UNTIL NEXT TIME
NASCAR heads to Talladega next weekend for the first of two races on the 2.66-mile course. Chastain won the spring race there last season and Elliott captured the fall race.