NASCAR insider explains reason behind Kyle Larson's scary wreck at Atlanta

Kyle Larson suffered a massive race-ending wreck at Atlanta when his car got loose and hit the wall with five laps to go in stage one. Larson, who entered the playoffs on the top of the table with a significant advantage over the others, found himself in 10th spot after Atlanta.

Following the race, NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck spoke about what led to the unexpected moment for Kyle Larson in stage one. which ended his race.

On the Teardown podcast, Bianchi remarked how "suddenly out of nowhere", the #5 car snapped loose as Larson overcorrected, and within seconds, his race was over (3:20).

"You could say it's the superspeedway or something. I don't think that was really superspeedway related. It was a hard tire.

"The car was a little bit out of control in that moment. Everybody was screaming 'loose' in that stage. He got loose. And that's it," Bianchi described.

As for what Kyle Larson said about his wreck, the Hendrick Motorsports driver said that it was "a huge hit" for him, but because of the safety inside the car, he was fine.

"Not really sure what caused it, I was actually tight, loaded in the corner. That was pretty far around the corner when it stepped out. It all happened pretty fast.

"I was already loaded in the corner, I just got loose when you’re spinning or getting ready to spin you have to turn right. I just overcorrected, I guess. It’s a bummer," Larson described as per NBC Sports.

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Jeff Gordon makes a case for Kyle Larson being a championship threat

Ahead of the playoffs, Jeff Gordon, vice-chairman of HMS, spoke about why Kyle Larson could be on his way to his second Cup championship this year. Gordon said that when the #5 team has "great speed" as well as good execution, there isn't a better team bringing a bigger threat.

The four-time Cup champion further pointed to another aspect of upcoming races that could play in Kyle Larson's favor.

"The most important thing that pops into my mind, especially when I look at that schedule, is he’s got to get to round three. That round is so strong for him.

"You’ve got Homestead (-Miami Speedway), Martinsville (Speedway) and (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway). Homestead and Vegas, I think, are two of his best tracks," Gordon described as per Hendrick Motorsports.

If Larson gets to that round, along with his bonus points he'd bring to those rounds, Jeff Gordon believes he would be "a near lock" for Phoenix.

It will be interesting to see if Kyle Larson can recover from the setback he suffered at Atlanta. He's still in a comfortable spot on the table with +15 advantage, which he will look to extend with a good result or a win in the next race at Watkins Glen.