Chase Briscoe absolutely snagged a wild victory in Las Vegas, a win he admitted he was “scared to death” not to pull off, but it was second-place finisher Kyle Larson who left the track fixated on what could have been. Despite a heroic fight back to the front, including a late-race collision with the wall, Larson believes he could have banked “another 10 points minimum,” showing just how intense the competition out there really is.
Briscoe’s ‘Cat-and-Mouse’ Redemption in the Desert
Briscoe’s win was pure drama, a true “cat-and-mouse” battle right to the finish line. He confessed to being terrified of facing his crew chief, James Small, if he hadn’t pulled it off. What an “amazing day” for him and the team, especially after a year where the “results we necessarily want” haven’t always come together. He gave huge props to the fans for sticking it out in the scorching heat and hoped it was “a good race” from their perspective. Briscoe got his partners back into victory lane, and he even shouted out some family birthdays, including his grandpa who was in the hospital, hoping he was watching and “enjoyed it.” He nailed the aero strategy, saying it was a “huge guessing game” in turns 1 and 2, but on 3 and 4, he knew if he hit the bottom “properly and slowed down,” Larson was going to have a tough time getting by. He knows he’s “normally not very good at” slowing down, so credit to him for holding on. That victory clearly meant a ton, especially after “throwing one away” last week and being in “not a very fun mental place.”
Larson’s Wild Ride: From Lap Down to the Wall
Kyle Larson’s day was a whole other level of fight. He started off “surprised how far off we were that first run,” just trying to hang on until the pit stop. His crew chief, Cliff Daniels, promised a “lengthy adjustment,” but Larson “didn’t know it was going to be that long.” They came out a lap down, which sounds brutal, but thankfully a caution came out and allowed them to wave around, “sav[ing] us from… being stuck a lap down a lot longer.” His car improved, but “track position was so difficult” all race long. He “chipped away at it” and after a good green flag pit cycle, could tell he was gaining on Briscoe “pretty quickly.” He stayed patient, but his tires were “getting kind of burned off” by the time he got there. In a last-ditch effort, he “moved up I feel like at the right time” and tried to push hard through turns 3 and 4 to build momentum. Then it happened: he “got really loose and overcorrected in the wall,” barely limping it home! He was happy Tyler Reddick got third, and he wished they could’ve won in his special paint scheme honoring Kyle Busch, saying it “would be very Kyle Busch fashion.” Despite the incredible fight, and being “plus 40 (points),” Larson’s competitive fire was still burning, lamenting, “dang, you know, if we could have just fired off, you know, more in the ballpark, we could have had another 10 points minimum.”
Reddick’s Relentless Battle for Third
Tyler Reddick rounded out the podium with a hard-fought third place, describing their race as a constant need to “dig deep.” He mentioned it’s “pretty much normal to have issues all day long for us on this team,” but they know how to “fight through it.” It took them longer than they wanted to get back to the front, but once there, he felt they were in a “pretty good spot,” settling into “fourth or fifth.” Unfortunately, a “slow stop” during a pit cycle cost them time and allowed the 5 and 24 cars to get ahead. That, he believes, “ultimately… played a part in just coming up a little short today.”
What a wild one in Las Vegas. These drivers are clearly in a season-long grind, pushing every single lap. With so much still to learn and fight for, you can bet they’ll be back at it, trying to grab every point they can get next time out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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