“This is one of three or four crown jewels”: Kyle Larson elated after winning the Darlington playoff opener

Kyle Larson won the opening race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Darlington, securing his spot in the Round of 12 and contributing to Hendrick Motorsports' 299th victory in the series.

Larson began the race in the 18th position, driving the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, but quickly advanced through the field. He entered the top 10 by lap 27 and reached the top five by lap 70. The driver finished the first 115-lap stage in third place and secured second place in stage two.

In the final stage, the 31-year-old temporarily dropped to the fifth position after making contact with the wall and experiencing a gearshift issue. However, he regained his momentum following a pit stop that placed him fourth after cycling through.

When a caution flag was raised on lap 311, Larson initially headed to pit road but wisely chose to remain on the track.

During the subsequent pit stop under the yellow flag, Larson's No. 5 pit crew, composed of Blaine Anderson, R.J. Barnette, Brandon Harder, Brandon Johnson, and Calvin Teague, executed a swift 10.11-second stop, allowing the driver to exit pit road in the lead.

From that point onwards, Larson led the final 55 laps and successfully defended challenges from Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher on multiple restarts to secure the victory.

Addressing his win, Larson said (via ESPN):

"This is a track I enjoy, suits my style, I just hadn't won yet. Was good to do it today. Adding this trophy to the collection is amazing. This is one of three or four crown jewels."

This victory marks Kyle Larson's third win of the season and his inaugural triumph in the Cup Series at Darlington. Before this race, he had never completed a race at the 1.366-mile track in NASCAR's top series and had led a total of 715 laps across 11 previous starts at this circuit.

Larson now holds the distinction of having the most top-five finishes in the series this year, with a total of 11.

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Hendrick Motorsports' milestone: Kyle Larson's win marks the 500th victory for the engine shop across all national series

Kyle Larson's win also holds special significance as it represents the 500th victory for the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop across all three national series (Cup, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series).

During his time at Chip Ganassi Racing, Larson contributed to the engine program's 400th victory by winning an Xfinity race at Daytona International Speedway in 2018.

Speaking of his latest win, Larson said:

"Just proud of the team, proud of (team owner) Rick Hendrick, (vice-chairman) Jeff Gordon, (team president) Jeff Andrews, (vice president of competition) Chad Knaus, and everybody at the Hendrick (Motorsports) engine shop.

"500 wins, that's incredible, so congratulations to everyoneoof you at the shop for all your hard work."

Since the introduction of the playoffs in 2004, Hendrick Motorsports has excelled with a remarkable 56 wins in postseason races, holding the record in the series.

Jimmie Johnson leads the pack with the most victories, boasting an impressive 29 wins. Among the current driver lineup, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are at the forefront with seven wins each, while Alex Bowman has secured one.

The second race of the Round of 16 is scheduled for Sunday, September 10, at Kansas Speedway.