The overtime thriller that was the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway ended with Ty Gibbs in Victory Lane. However, it was Kyle Larson, a previous winner at the track, who was looking good to take home his first Cup win of 2026.

The 0.533-mile Bristol oval has been a track that suits Larson's driving style. He looked dominant throughout the race, winning stages 1 and 2, and leading 284 of 500 laps. However, it was a late caution brought out by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, that cost him.

With 21 laps to go, Elliott got loose and spun in Turn 2. During the caution, Kyle Larson pitted, which cost him valuable track position, and he went from third to sixth. However, three laps after the restart, the Hendrick Motorsports driver regained third with decisive overtakes and stayed there until the end.

During the post-race interview, the reigning Cup champion was asked about his takeaway from the race at Bristol. He said:

"I thought yesterday, after practice, there wasn't any tire wear, and there wasn’t excessive amounts of rubber being laid into the track either, and the pace felt really, really fast. I was like, 'Man, I don't, I just think it just might be a really fast-paced race,' which it was, but I think the tire laid down more rubber into the surface than I thought it would. So it actually was easier, I thought, to pass the lappers than normal."

Larson further explained how he was satisfied with NASCAR and Goodyear's tire gamble for Bristol, even though fans might have preferred a more chaotic race like 2025.

"So I actually ended up being really happy with the tire. I don't know what others thought. I’m sure race fans are gonna have their opinion of the chaos and the other stuff that we used to have, but I thought it was a great race," he added.

There was more chaos during the 2025 Food City 500 at Bristol due to the extreme tire wear. But that chaos was curbed this year after Goodyear introduced new tires with significantly less degradation.

Kyle Larson on his "crazy" third-place finish at Bristol

At the 2025 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson finished the race on the top step of the podium. He dominated throughout, winning stages 1 and 2, and led 411 of 500 laps.

However, this year he had to settle for third. Though Larson showed promising pace after winning both stages, the strategy and pit stop cost him a tad at the end.

Talking to reporters post-race, Larson said (via Jayski), "Got crazy at the end with the strategy and still finished third – I’ll take it. It was a good day. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten good stage points. I felt like we had moments where I thought we were a definite contender. [Blaney], as the race progressed, got much better. We executed great today."

Despite finishing third, Kyle Larson tied his fourth-most laps led in a single race. Moreover, he went from ninth to sixth in the standings, surpassing Bell, Wallace, and Byron.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak