Home hero Kyle Larson wins the Gold Cup: Full results explored

Kyle Larson won the opening prelim of the 69th Gold Cup Race of Champions in California to earn his 10th victory at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Thursday.

Kyle Larson started sixth in the 30-lap feature race, with Kalib Henry and Shane Golobic leading the field to the green flag. However, neither Henry nor Golobic led the first lap.

Chase Johnson who started fourth, went down the back straightaway and had enough momentum to pass Golobic and pass Henry for the lead at Turn 3.

On lap 22, Larson managed to clear Johnson amidst the traffic in turn 2 and took the lead. Larson crossed the finish line with a four-second lead.

The full results from the Silver Dollar Speedway

Finishing Order	Driver
1	Kyle Larson
2	Shane Golobic
3	Corey Day
4	Logan Schuchart
5	Brad Sweet
6	Carson Macedo
7	Chase Johnson
8	James McFadden
9	Giovanni Scelzi
10	M-Kalib Henry
11	Kaleb Montgomery
12	Noah Grass
13	Cole Macedo
14	Dylan Bloomfield
15	Tim Kaeding
16	Andy Forsberg
17	Robbie Price
18	Chance Grasty
19	Gauge Garcia
20	J-John Clark
21	D-Dawson Hammes
22	Ashlyn Rodriguez
23	Ryan Lippincott
24	Sean Becker

The NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars will be back in California's Silver Dollar Speedway for the second preliminary round of the 69th Gold Cup Race of Champions on September 8.

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Kyle Larson cruises into playoff after winning at Darlington

In NASCAR, each round of the playoffs consists of three races, and the winner of the races advances to the next round automatically.

Kyle Larson could finish dead last at the upcoming races in Kansas and Bristol after his victory in the playoff opener on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, and he will still advance to the Round of 12.

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500

After his first victory of the year in Richmond, Kyle Larson and his No.5 team knew they would advance into the playoff, but the erratic outcomes made their potential playoff entry difficult to predict. Inconsistent results and performance left Larson wondering if he could even make it through.

"At any point we would win, finish 30th, run second, finish 30th, wreck from the lead, finish 30th. It was just like that all year long,” Larson said (via motorsport.com)

Despite only reaching victory lane twice during the 2023 NASCAR Cup regular season and crashing out in the following races, Larson comfortably qualified for the 16-driver playoffs due to his strong record.