Kyle Larson leads Hendrick Motorsports charge as all 4 cars finish inside top 10 for the first time this season

Kyle Larson led the Hendrick Motorsports crew with a third-place finish at Phoenix Raceway. The Phoenix spring race marks a strong outing for the Chevrolet-affiliated team as all four drivers finished inside the top 10 for the first time this year.

Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro, started the Shriners Children's 500 17th, with teammate William Byron securing the pole position. He made a late charge in the closing laps but came short of race winner Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin.

Hendrick Motorsports took to X to share its results at the 1.0-mile track.

"Strong finish...just a warm up for the fall," the team wrote.

The caption refers to the second stop at Phoenix Raceway in November. The fall race will host the Championship 4 battle, with William Byron the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to secure a playoff spot four weeks into the 2025 season.

Speaking of Byron, the 2025 Daytona 500 winner followed Kyle Larson among the HMS drivers with a sixth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway. Alex Bowman was behind him in seventh, while Chase Elliott rounded the top 10.

The Phoenix spring race witnessed Larson battling Christopher Bell for the win for the second time this season. The first instance was at Atlanta Motor Speedway where the HMS star lost the lead to Bell and Carson Hocevar on the final lap.

Kyle Larson (5) battling Denny Hamlin (11) and Christopher Bell (20) at Phoenix - Source: Imagn

The next race weekend will be held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400. The No. 5 driver is set to enter the contest as the defending spring race winner when he led 181 of 267 laps last year.

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"I feel like I made the correct decisions": Kyle Larson on third-place finish at Phoenix

Kyle Larson reflected on the final lap showdown with Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin battling for the lead. He believes he made the "correct decision" of following the two drivers instead of diving to the bottom for a hail-mary move.

Larson said in a post-race interview with Fox Sports:

"I feel like that's my only hope [Bell and Hamlin wrecking]. I feel like I made the correct decisions there [...] I thought of being patient to try and keep them side-by-side, then the back was good. I could've shot to the bottom, but I feel like I would've wrecked everybody."

He also commended the No. 5 team for the effort in the desert race, adding:

"Good to finish third. I feel like we were going to be lucky to finish top 10, and pit crew did a good job there at the last stop. They made good adjustments compared to our first option tire run."

"Great to get a solid finish in here. It's been kind of a struggle for us here to start the year. Happy about that and go to Vegas and try to do good again," Larson concluded.

With Kyle Larson finishing third at Phoenix Raceway, the 2021 NASCAR champion moved five spots up to 11th in the standings.