Kyle Larson shares his thoughts following near-win opportunity at Talladega

Kyle Larson recently dropped his verdict on his second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, saying he went “close” but will look forward to the next race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver has historically struggled at superspeedways, including the iconic Talladega Superspeedway, a track known for its unpredictability and high-speed racing. In the most recent race at Talladega Superspeedway, Larson came in at second, marking his best-ever result at the track and his best finish on a Superspeedway.

He started in the 25th spot but amassed a Stage 1 win, breaking the record for the most stage wins in the NASCAR Cup Series all-time list. He surpassed Martin Truex Jr., who has 66 stage wins, and claimed his 67th stage win. The HMS star finished second in stage 2 and collected the most points of any driver in the race with 52 points.

This performance was a historic accomplishment for his team as well because it helped HMS place all of their drivers in the top ten for the first time in 14 years. Last year, Larson secured a fourth-place finish after avoiding the biggest crash in Talladega history and securing crucial stage points.

Kyle Larson shared pictures from his race at Talladega on X(formerly Twitter) with the caption:

"So close… On to Texas"

After ten races, Kyle Larson sits second in the championship standings with 358 points, trailing only his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. He has already achieved two wins at Homestead-Miami and Bristol, showcasing his dominance on intermediate and short tracks.

Larson has also collected six top-five and seven top-ten finishes with an average finish of 12.3 and an average starting position of 12.6. The California native has had a strong start to the season, and he will be hoping to build on the impressive start and be competitive in the playoffs.

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“All jammed up”: Kyle Larson reflects on eventful Talladega Cup Series race

Kyle Larson (5), Alex Bowman (48), and Chase Elliott (9) go into turn one at Talladega Superspeedway - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson reflected on a tense and action-packed Talladega Cup race after finishing third on track, and later getting promoted to second following Ryan Preece’s disqualification. In his post-race interview, Larson explained that he was boxed in during the final laps and had no room to make a decisive move for the win, saying:

"I don't think there's anything I could've done on the final lap," Larson said [via PRN on X]. "I was just second row inside and was gonna do everything I could to advance our lane and see if I could get to the outside, but we're all just pushing equally so it was jammed up."

Austin Cindric ultimately took the victory, marking Team Penske’s first win of the season, while Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Joey Logano rounded out the top finishers.