Larson led 221 of the race’s 267 laps.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In 2024, Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher at Kansas in the closest NASCAR Cup Series finish ever. In 2025, Larson won by a much wider margin, by crushing the field for a dominant victory.
Larson started on the pole and led 221 of the race’s 267 laps in a nearly flawless performance. He beat Christopher Bell by around half a second for the win.
The No. 5 Hendrick driver only lost the lead during pit cycles and a brief period where Chase Elliott got out front.
“Great car, great execution today,” Larson said after the win. “Glad to not win by an inch this time.”
Larson mentioned tire wear after his win, which played a big factor throughout the race. Larson lost speed late in the green flag runs but was able to control his car enough to hold onto the lead. On the race’s final lap, Larson’s tires were severely worn, and Bell closed the gap from well over a second behind.
Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, and Alex Bowman completed the top five.
The first two-thirds of the race were mostly incident-free. AJ Allmendinger lost an engine on lap 7, the only caution of the first stage.
Most of the crashes happened at the beginning of the final stage. Brad Keselowski crashed after losing a tire on lap 195. Keselowski was running in second at the time of the crash and was looking for his first top 10 of the season.
Ty Dillon spun on the ensuing restart and collected Daniel Suárez and Cody Ware. The race lasted only one lap under green on the next restart when Kyle Busch was sent around after contact from Ross Chastain and Josh Berry. Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, and Justin Haley were victims of the race’s last caution on lap 213 after Corey Heim got out of line.
Denny Hamlin’s car stalled for a clutch issue during a pit stop in the final stage, sending him from the top five to 36th. It’s the second DNF in a row for Hamlin.
Larson’s 221 laps led breaks the previous Kansas record set by Jimmie Johnson in 2011 (197). Larson crossed the 10,000 laps led mark on Sunday, becoming the 22nd driver to reach the mark.
The NASCAR Cup Series is next in action at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star race. Joey Logano.
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