Kyle Larson prevails at Martinsville, Joey Logano second

 

[April 17, 2023]  Kyle Larson is going to have to move some furniture to make room for his latest trophy.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver passed Joey Logano with 29 laps remaining to win Sunday afternoon's NOCO 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Larson, who took two right-side tires on the fifth caution period with 55 laps to go, restarted fifth with Logano -- who stayed out on older tires -- at the point with 46 circuits left in the final short-track race of the regular season's first half.

Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet nudged Logano's No. 22 up the track and made the pass down the backstretch to record his first victory in 17 starts at the historic track.

The Elk Grove, Calif., native prevailed for his 21st career win -- his second in three starts -- by 4.142 seconds.

It was the 28th career win for Hendrick Motorsports at the storied .526-mile venue.

"I never, ever thought I'd have won here," said Larson, whose win tied him for 38th on NASCAR's all-time list. "This place has been so tough on me. It just does not suit my driving style at all. I like to charge the center and roll momentum. That's not what this place is like."

The speedway's trophy is a grandfather clock -- one Larson thought he'd never have to worry about bringing home.

"This is amazing," Larson said. "I honestly have never thought that I would win here, so I don't have a spot picked out for the clock. I'm going to have to make some space for sure."

Added Logano, who started at the field's rear because of an adjustment on his Ford, "I didn't have a fighting chance (at beating him). ... He was pretty patient, and I knew I was going to get bumped."

Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe finished third through fifth, respectively.

Apr 16, 2023; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) celebrates winning the NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Hendrick's Chase Elliott, who fractured his left tibia in an early March snowboarding accident leading up to the Las Vegas race, returned in the No. 9 Camaro to make his third start, gridding 24th in qualifying, and finishing 10th.

In his best starting position of 2023 and with the overcast weather questionable, Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan Preece won the pole and hustled his way to leading all 80 circuits in a caution-free Stage 1.

Racing in his fourth full season, the Ford driver earned his first-ever stage win and only the fifth for SHR since 2021 by beating Aric Almirola's No. 10 Ford.

However, Preece was caught speeding on pit road during service after leading the race's first 135 laps and penalized.

Ross Chastain paced the 36-car field in the second stage, but Kevin Harvick -- Preece's teammate at SHR -- slipped by Chastain's No. 1 Chevy with 14 laps to go and ran away to his first stage win since 2020.

Briscoe led 71 laps in the final segment but surrendered the lead to Hamlin on Lap 258.

--Field Level Media

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