Despite trying his absolute best, Kyle Larson failed to take the victory at Kansas, and as a result, his winless streak extended to 33. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 78 laps, only bested by Denny Hamlin's 131.

He looked strong to claim a win in overtime until Tyler Reddick snatched it away in the final two corners, registering his fifth win in nine races. In a post-race interview, Larson spoke about his smooth restart on lap 273 and the near-miss.

"When it all worked out like that, I was like, oh great, clean air.
And then I went through three and four," the reigning Cup champion said. "I was plowing, and yeah, I was nervous. And then I could tell he had a huge run on me behind and thought maybe if I could get to the banking, it would load and cut, but it didn't."

Following this, Kyle Larson lauded Reddick, who has been in the form of his life.

"He was really good right there. And I was just hoping to be better. I was happy to get to the lead. The restart worked out great. But anyway, we got lucky with the caution, too. So yeah, good day.
I think second in the first stage, first in the second in the race. So yeah, we're getting closer, really close there, but you know, we'll keep trying," Larson concluded.

Having started the race in fourth place, Kyle Larson ended Stage 1 in second and Stage 2 on top. However, he lost in the final run as Reddick had the advantage of slipstream and pulled away in the end.

With the failure to win at Kansas, pressure mounts on him as his last victory came at the AdventHealth 400 on May 11, 2025, at the same Kansas track.

Kyle Larson Aimed to Win at Kansas, Failed

Ahead of Sunday's AdventHealth 400 at the Kansas Speedway, Kyle Larson shared that he wanted to win the race and get done with the winless streak. However, destiny had other plans. Speaking about his urge to win before the race, he said (via NASCAR.com):

"It's kind of wild to think that, yeah, it's almost been a year since I've won. I don't feel like we're that bad. I think ultimately celebrating the championship in Phoenix felt like a win in a lot of ways. But yeah, ultimately, I mean, we want to get back to Victory Lane. We're working as hard as we ever have worked, I feel like, as a group. We want to win."

Even though Kyle Larson could not win, he took home 54 important points to pull himself back into the top five in the standings. With six top 10s, which include three podiums, he is currently spearheading the Hendrick Motorsports brigade this season.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yask Kotak