Xfinity winner Kyle Larson claims Martin Truex Jr. is the car to beat in Cup Series

Picking up his first victory at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity race on Saturday, Kyle Larson is hoping to make it an Xfinity-Cup sweep on Sunday.

Starting the Goodyear 400 Cup Series race in seventh position, Larson reckons pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. is the man to beat. According to Larson, Truex Jr. has the edge over the entire grid on the famed 1.366-mile oval.

Speaking about the #19 driver in high regard, Larson said after the Xfinity race:

"I think the #19 in my opinion is probably the one to beat. He is really good here, especially in three and four. He can run the wall better than anybody here by far. I think he'll be the one to beat. But I think we definitely have a good enough car to compete. Just got to execute a little bit better than I did today and not make it hard to myself."

Truex Jr. winner of the Goodyear 400 in 2021

A two-time winner at Darlington Raceway, Martin Truex Jr. is in form heading into the Goodyear 400. After ending his winless streak, the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver is set to make take his second win of the season. A seasoned veteran, Truex Jr. has the experience and the skills to take on the track that is 'too tough to be tamed.'

Challenging him for the win will be his teammate Denny Hamlin, who is in hot form, coming off a victory in Kansas. Hamlin also has two victories at Darlington

Meanwhile, the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver is betting on his better long-run pace to challenge for the victory. Speaking about his odds for the win, he admitted:

"My race car in the practice in the Cup Series was really good, I was maybe not as fast as some for the first few laps but my long run speed was really really good."

Catch Kyle Larson live in action in the Goodyear 400, on FS1 at 3:00 pm ET.

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Kyle Larson battles John Hunter Nemechek to take his first victory at Darlington

Kyle Larson was the favorite to win the Shriner's Children 200 Xfinity race. However, John Hunter Nemechek went toe-to-toe with Larson, as he challenged the Cup Series driver for the win.

Dropping to the rear of the field after stage two due to a penalty, Larson made a quick recovery to overtake J.H.Nemechek in the final lap for the win.

Speaking about the final lap tango, Kyle Larson said:

"We were able to get to (Nemechek’s) inside and just side-draft there. We were just bouncing off each other a little bit. I’m not sure what happened in (Turn) 3, but it seemed like he was trying to get in behind me to shove me in the corner."

He added:

"He kind of hooked me right and hit the wall and just tried to stay away from him off of (Turn) 4. What an exciting race there."

Kyle Larson drove down the victory lane in his first start with Kaulig Racing.