Kyle Larson believes he could have emerged as the race winner on Sunday in Dover if he had a better track position. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver secured his third victory of the 2024 season in Dover in an impressive manner. He now shares the title of most successful driver of the year with William Byron, who also has three wins. The three-time Daytona 500 champion took full control of the race as soon as he took the lead on the restart with 62 laps remaining.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver was Denny Hamlin’s main competitor throughout the day in Dover. The Chevy Camaro ZL1 number 5 was leading with 72 laps to go in the race, and the two drivers were engaged in a fierce battle when another yellow flag was raised. The Toyota Camry number 11 managed to restart in the lead and maintained control of the race from that point onwards.
Kyle Larson witnessed Hamlin pulling away from the pack from lap 61 and made a valiant effort to close the gap between them. However, the speed of the Camry and the dirty air issue he had to overcome proved to be too much for him to reduce the gap enough to make a pass. He had no choice but to do his best to keep up with the 23XI Racing co-owner until the finish line.
Larson highlighted that HMS provided him with a highly capable car that allowed him to climb from 21st to 2nd position, and winning stage two was also an impressive feat. He believes that if he had a better restart, he could have converted the strong performance into a victory.
The No. 5 team of HMS has little to be disappointed about. They were the second best team of the day and maximized their result despite a poor qualifying session. Larson still has the opportunity to secure his second win of the season in the upcoming weekends.
