Kyle Larson disappointed as superior pit crew execution from William Byron cost him the win

Kyle Larson was outraced by teammate Alex Bowman for the win in 2022 and had the same fate in 2023 as well.

Kyle Larson disappointed as superior pit crew execution from William Byron cost him the win

Kyle Larson (Credits: NASCAR.com)

Hendrick Motorsports is a happy team going into the fourth Cup race of the season next weekend at Phoenix. The Chevy giants swept the podiums in Las Vegas, with youngster William Byron leading the pack with a win. 2022 Cup champion Kyle Larson scored a P2 while defending race winner Alex Bowman failed to “back into a win” this time.

The HMS duo of Byron and Larson were destined to finish top 2. The No:24 driver won all two stages of the race before taking the checkered flag and leading a race-record 176 laps in the race. On the other hand, Larson led 62 laps and was the most dominant driver in the final stage. He was poised to win if the caution for Almirola’s spin wasn’t called.

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The race went into overtime following the caution. Larson had the opportunity to take the front row in restart as he pitted having a 2-second gap with Byron. But the No:24 pit crew showed their support as they helped Byron to steal the lead by getting him out early. Larson was forced to start behind Martin Truex Jr. in the final restart as the JGR veteran stayed out.

“It’s just part of Cup racing. It seems like you count the laps down lap by lap, and then, sure enough, the yellow lights come on. You just have to get over that and try to execute a good pit stop, and I thought I did a really good job getting to my sign and getting to the commitment line,” said Kyle Larson.        

“I had a gap to William behind me; their pit crew must have done a really good job and got him out in front of us, and that gave up the front row. I knew I was in trouble with the No. 19 (Truex) staying out. I felt like William was going to get by him. It’s a bummer that we didn’t end up the winner, but all in all, William probably had a little better car than I had today, and their pit crew executed when they needed to at the end,” Kyle Larson added.

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Kyle Larson is ready to move on from the Bummer.

Kyle Larson and William Byron
Kyle Larson and William Byron

Larson pointed out that he did everything well in the end but lacked proper execution of the pit stop. He said, “You can’t fuss about it too much. You just try to get focused on the pit stop and try to execute and do a good job. I felt like I did everything on my end well,”.

Though disappointed, Larson understands that winning the bread-and-butter races of the cup series is tough without a better pitter execution than one’s opponent, which isn’t possible in every race. He said he was happy about the team’s overall performance and is looking forward to returning to Phoenix.

“These are really, really tough to win, and you have to execute from top to bottom. We did a good job today, but their pit crew was a little faster on the last stop. A bummer but all in all. I’m happy and proud of the effort from our Hendrick team. I’m looking forward to getting to Phoenix next week,” Kyle Larson added.

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