Rick Hendrick’s star Kyle Larson has little regrets after “pretty intense” battle against Christopher Bell at Atlanta

Kyle Larson shared his thoughts after losing to Christopher Bell in a "pretty intense" last-lap showdown at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He acknowledged feeling "bummed" not getting the win in what would've been his best finish on a drafting track.

Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, took the white flag first, but Christopher Bell snatched the lead from the outside. Unfortunately for the Chevy pilot, caution was thrown, which meant losing the victory to Bell and settling in third position.

In a press release, Kyle Larson gave his perspective on the last lap, including considering covering the outside lane to try to seal the lead for the win.

"I think if I didn’t let the No. 20 (Christopher Bell) get to my outside, I would have had an opportunity, but he would probably split to my inside into (turn) one and clear me. If I don’t hesitate, the wreck probably doesn’t happen. So yeah, I don’t know. I haven’t seen a replay yet. But yeah, bummer not to get a win," Larson said.

"I’m proud of the effort today by this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team. We had a lot of fun. It was super intense," he added.

Despite coming short of the win, the Californian congratulated Christopher Bell and thanked the Chevrolet camp for the support, saying:

"We just came up a little bit short. Congratulations to Bell. Thank you to HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet and all the Chevy partner teams, too. It’s been a good night, just wish we could have been a couple spots better."

Kyle Larson driving the No. 5 Chevy at Atlanta Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson had a tough start lining up in row nine alongside Tyler Reddick. However, the No. 5 driver gained positions in the latter half of the race and won Stage 2, a first for the 32-year-old driver on a drafting track.

Finishing P1 would've given Larson his first career victory in a superspeedway-like race but Christopher Bell stole the show on the final lap. Carson Hocevar also made a late charge to post his best NASCAR Cup Series finish in P2.

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Kyle Larson is set for two Xfinity races with Hendrick Motorsports this year

In addition to the full-time Cup schedule, Kyle Larson will enter two races with Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. He will partake in the team's 16-race schedule for the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro SS sponsored by HendrickCars.com.

The first race is at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 22, followed by the SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12. He is entering the races as a previous winner of two scheduled tracks.

Larson will switch driving duties with William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and Corey Day.

Kyle Larson's most recent Xfinity Series win was at COTA last year - Source: Imagn

Byron will run at COTA on March 1 and Charlotte on May 24, while Bowman will race at Phoenix on March 8. As for Chase Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup champion is scheduled for the Darlington stop on April 5.

Corey Day will drive the No. 17 Chevy in 10 races this year, including Martinsville (spring), Texas, Nashville, Sonoma, Iowa, Bristol, Charlotte Roval, Las Vegas, Martinsville (fall), and Phoenix.