After yet another dominating performance from Kyle Larson and the rest of the number 5 team at Nashville. Many are speculating one thing, is Larson the championship favorite? Does anyone have anything against him? Here is the full rundown in the Nashville recap!
Stage One
Too early for bold moves?
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 20, 2021
Not for @KyleLarsonRacin!
?: NBCSN ?: https://t.co/r61CT6B6jq pic.twitter.com/cixwKmd4GR
This race as a whole was a mess, a fun mess, but a mess nonetheless. I mean, before the race even started, Ryan Blaney (12) had to go back to the pits to fix a left-rear quarter panel after it got bent getting onto the track. Not to mention the fact that Aric Almirola (10) got the pole. No offense Aric, you’ve just had a rough season.
Anyways, at the green, Quin Houff (00) had a tire fall-off going into turn one and immediately brought out the caution. Kyle Larson (5) shot up in between Kyle Busch (18) and Almirola to capture the lead at the restart. We really got to see how much braking these cars were doing about 40/50 laps in. Ryan Blaney in particular had his brakes go out, putting him in the wall and having to retire. Chris Buescher (17) and Justin Haley (77) both had issues towards the end of the stage, bringing a late restart. Chase Elliott (9) and Larson fought for the lead, but Elliott ultimately came away with the stage win.
Stage Two
“Tight tight tight. Loose loose loose loose loose.”@KyleBusch on how he’s feeling inside the No. 18 car. #NASHCAR // NBCSN pic.twitter.com/2ovTfbwMxD
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 20, 2021
The second stage served us another helping of the battle of Kyles upfront, but it didn’t last long. Larson shot up to the lead within a lap or two while Busch started going the other way. I’m still not entirely sure what was going on with the number 18, it looked like the car just wouldn’t turn in the corner. Not in like a typical tight car way but more like the chassis of the car was off. The in-car camera showed that he was basically coasting all the way through the corner cause every time he’d get back into the gas it’d creep up the track, which was odd.
Bubba Wallace (23) and Cole Custer (41) both wrecked in stage two’s later parts. Wallace had a tire go out which led to him spinning and Custer had a brake failure that put him in the wall. The caution from Custer’s wreck left the stage with ten laps. After the pit stops, Chase Briscoe took two tires rather than four and got to start up front. But those two new tires did nothing against the 5 and Larson quickly checked out for the second stage win.
Final Stage
Charlotte: Kyle Larson
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 20, 2021
Sonoma: Kyle Larson
All-Star Race: Kyle Larson@NashvilleSuperS: Kyle Larson@KyleLarsonRacin is ON A ROLL! @TeamHendrick pic.twitter.com/Shb9GAKJ6i
For the final stage, the front two cars on the restart were Larson and William Byron (24). Byron had worked his way up through traffic after having to start in the rear due to an unapproved adjustment before the race. He had the speed to give Larson some trouble. But I think he chewed through his tires quicker which caused him to stall out once he got upfront.
Surprisingly, the last stage was rather quiet until about 74 laps to go when Briscoe had a brake failure. The wreck came at the point in the race where teams were making pit decisions. This really mixed the pack up a bit but it gave a lot of drivers fresher tires than the cars out front. One of those drivers who pit was Ross Chastain (42) and it worked out very well for him. Getting all the way up to second before the end of the race.
At the point of the wreck, Larson was not good on fuel. Somehow, someway, he managed to conserve the approximately five laps worth of fuel while still holding almost a five-second lead. It’s really shown how dominant this team has been this season.
My Take
I just want to say that the Nashville race surprised me. It brought some really good racing. Multiple lines were run. We even got to see fuel, tire, and brake strategies come into play which we haven’t really seen in a long time. Was the race dominated by one driver? Yes, but was the race itself fun to watch? Also yes. Overall, I have to say this was probably one of the best races this season. It was very entertaining to see the drivers really be challenged.
On the topic of Larson being the championship favorite, I’m kind of torn. He’s been insanely dominant this season. To the point that even if he didn’t win a race, he probably still led a good chunk. It reminds me a lot of how Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin were last season. But did either of them win the championship? The way the playoffs work is you basically have to be perfect and if you have even one or two bad races in succession, you could be out. Larson could definitely keep this going and win it all this year. But he is going to have to keep being this dominant for the rest of the season to do so.
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