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Despite coming up short during his chase for the second NASCAR Cup Series championship this year, Kyle Larson was a reasonably pleased man as he got out of his car.
Larson came within touching distance of taking the championship away from Ryan Blaney. But, the Hendrick Motorsports driver ultimately fell short as the #12 Ford Mustang driver delivered his team their second title in a row.
Managing to finish in P3 behind Blaney, Larson was seen with the best shot to finish ahead of his Championship 4 peers during the final restart of the finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Kyle Larson revealed that the key to him possibly driving away came down to clearing Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain. While he could only manage to clear Hamlin, Blaney ultimately caught up to the slower #5 Chevy.
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Despite having missed out on a second title for himself and his team, the Elk Grove, California native was pleased with the way the championship contenders raced. In what was a vastly different race from the Xfinity or Truck Series races this weekend, Larson complimented the driver's fair racing techniques.
He elaborated in a post-race interview with NBC Sports:
"I tried to take as much as I could in (turn) 1 and 2, just to see if I could do anything just because he (Ryan Blaney) was a lot faster. He was behind me a number of times, never touched me, so my respect level started with him. He raced with a lot of respect early on in the race. He always has."
Kyle Larson touches on lack of pace ahead of P3 finish in NASCAR Cup Series championship finale
The #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 never looked like a dominant car during the NASCAR Cup Series championship finale at Phoenix Raceway. Despite that, Kyle Larson lauded the pit crew for putting in a great effort.
"Our pit crew really kept us in the game," he added. "We weren't the greatest on the track. I needed to come out the leader on that restart. I'm not sure if it would have made a difference."
Kyle Larson finished in P3 behind Ryan Blaney, with his teammate William Byron and RFK Racing's Chris Buescher rounding out the top-5 finishers of the day.
