HMS' Kyle Larson explains why the Bristol playoff race outshined the spring race

Kyle Larson led the way for Hendrick Motorsports, winning his fifth race of the 2024 NASCAR season at Bristol. After the race, Larson explained what made this race different from the spring event.

Larson finished in 5th place and earned 44 points at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in March this year. The No. 5 team maintained speed and position with quick tire changes, which kept the American ahead of the competition.

In the media interaction following Saturday's race, Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass inquired about the moment Larson realized he could extend his tire life to complete 100 laps, a significant improvement from the 40 or 50 laps he'd managed in the spring race.

Here's what the 32-year-old said in response:

“I would say probably by lap 10 in practice... I didn’t see any [marbles], so I was like, all right. I was happy for sure because I know you guys probably think that the race in the spring was better, but as a driver, I would way rather run 100% all night long for 500 laps than run 50%. I don’t think that’s much of a race."

Larson passed teammate Alex Bowman on Lap 34, won the first stage, and the No. 5 team kept the lead after a four-tire pit stop on Lap 131, winning the second stage. Larson emerged from the pits first again on Lap 333 after a quick four-tire change. Goodyear tires worked surprisingly well at Saturday night's race, compared to the performance at the same track in March, where Denny Hamlin won.

Driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Larson dominated the track and led for 462 out of 500 laps—more than any winner at Bristol since Cale Yarborough in 1977. He also surpassed Jeff Gordon and set a new record for the most laps led in a single race for Hendrick Motorsports.

"So I grew up racing different stuff, you know, where you do push (0:57) the whole race, but I don't know. I think that version of Bristol is way more exciting," he added.

Kyle Larson finished 500 laps at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in just 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 53 seconds.

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"A lot to do just with ambient temps and track temp" - Kyle Larson's crew chief on Bristol race conditions

Cliff Daniels, Kyle Larson's crew chief, attributed the changes in race conditions between last fall, this spring, and the recent Bristol Motor Speedway race primarily to variations in track and tire temperatures.

"what happened from last fall to this spring to again today has a lot to do just with ambient temps and track temp...The hotter that tire gets, it starts to have a little bit of oil that comes out of the surface and tacks it up and then that lays it down into the surface a lot better. Plus, we had two, three days worth of racing on the track here this before we got on track," Daniels said.

Daniels added that replicating the conditions from the spring race is challenging due to the track's weather-induced changes.

"I think it would be very hard to recreate this spring again because the element of surprise. I do think it's a real thing at the concrete tracks,” he added.

The Cup Series Playoffs will continue with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, September 29, at Kansas Speedway.