Sac County native leads 235 of 267 laps, scores historic perfect points day while adding another victory to his remarkable 2026 season
KANSAS CITY – Elk Grove native Kyle Larson added another chapter to his NASCAR career Sunday, delivering a dominant performance at Kansas Speedway that extended his lead in the NASCAR Cup Series championship chase while producing a collection of statistical milestones.
Larson passed Chase Briscoe with seven laps remaining and held on to win Sunday’s race by 0.565 seconds, earning his second victory through the first four races of The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
The victory came only weeks after Larson snapped a 51-race winless streak at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. This time, the Northern California driver left little doubt about the strength of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, leading 235 of the race’s 267 laps and sweeping both stages before taking the checkered flag.
The performance also produced something never before accomplished under NASCAR’s current points format. Larson collected the maximum 76 points available in a single race, becoming the first driver to record a perfect points day since the format was introduced.
Larson, a two-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, entered Kansas leading the championship chase and increased that advantage with the victory.
Austin Cindric finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin in third. Briscoe, who briefly wrestled the lead away from Larson late in the race, finished fourth after making repeated contact with the outside wall during the closing laps. Ryan Blaney completed the top five.
Christopher Bell finished sixth, followed by William Byron, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece. All 10 of the top finishers were championship contenders.
Larson established control almost immediately Sunday.
Starting from the front after rain washed out Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, Larson led 78 of the opening 80 laps to win Stage 1. Hamlin finished the stage second, followed by Cindric, Carson Hocevar and Bell.
The only interruption during the opening stage came with a competition caution on Lap 35.
Larson continued the domination during Stage 2, building an advantage of approximately four seconds before the race’s first incident caution came on Lap 114 when Noah Gragson suffered an apparent engine failure.
Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports crew kept him out front during the ensuing pit cycle, and he again controlled the restart.
A multicar incident followed on Lap 121 after Hocevar made contact with Ty Gibbs, sending Gibbs into Wallace. Erik Jones and Josh Berry were also caught in the incident.
Once racing resumed, Larson again pulled away and captured Stage 2 at Lap 165. Cindric finished the stage second, followed by Hamlin, Briscoe and Bell.
The final stage finally produced the challenge Larson had avoided for much of the afternoon.
Briscoe’s No. 19 team repeatedly gained ground on pit road, including a stop that ranked among the fastest recorded, allowing him to remain within striking distance of Larson. When Briscoe headed to pit road during a green-flag sequence on Lap 216, Larson and the No. 5 team immediately reacted and followed him down pit road.
Larson emerged ahead, but Briscoe remained close.
With 30 laps remaining, Briscoe made his move. The two raced side-by-side down the frontstretch, with Larson attempting to defend the position before Briscoe eventually drove into the lead.
It was the first green-flag lead change of the afternoon.
Briscoe couldn’t shake Larson as the leaders worked through traffic. With 11 laps remaining, Larson closed rapidly exiting Turns 1 and 2. Both cars brushed the outside wall before Larson dove toward the bottom entering Turn 3, but Briscoe maintained the position.
Larson tried again four laps later.
This time it worked.
Larson completed the pass approaching six laps remaining and reclaimed a lead he wouldn’t surrender. Briscoe made additional contact with the wall after losing the position, allowing Larson to open enough of a margin to secure the victory.
The Kansas performance continued Larson’s resurgence at a critical point in the season. After going 51 Cup Series races without a victory, the Elk Grove native has now won twice in a four-race span — both coming during NASCAR’s championship chase.
More importantly for Larson’s pursuit of another Cup Series championship, Sunday’s maximum-points performance increased his advantage over the other title contenders as the postseason moves deeper into the fall.
For Larson, who grew up racing on Northern California dirt tracks before becoming one of NASCAR’s most accomplished active drivers, Kansas was more than another trip to Victory Lane. It was an afternoon in which nearly everything available to a driver — two stage victories, the race victory, maximum points and 235 laps led — belonged to the Elk Grove native.
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