INDIANAPOLIS — No less an authority than the winningest Cup driver at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marveled at how the track’s latest winner weaved through traffic to take the checkered flag on a memorable Sunday afternoon drive.
Jeff Gordon, a five-time Brickyard 400 winner, is Kyle Larson’s boss at Hendrick Motorsports so it is understandable if there is a natural bias. But when Gordon spoke of how Larson drove to victory, he spoke as someone who turned auto racing into artistry and had just watched another master perform.
“I just enjoyed watching him work that traffic, whether it was get a small run off of Turn 4, go into 1, then just dive in there, make them look in their mirror, spotter say something, something to get them off their line,” Gordon said. “It’s all about creativity, finding ways to pass.”
Creativity is even more important in this era where cars are so even. Passing already was difficult at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Cup cars and drivers forecasted a race where it would be even more challenging.
But in a 22-lap stretch, Larson gained 17 positions to climb to third with eight laps left to the scheduled distance.
He also had help, which Larson admitted. He didn’t have to worry about fuel. Everybody ahead of him was saving fuel. The difference was Larson had stopped 11 laps after those in front of him. Larson could charge.
Brad Keselowski led and was saving fuel. Instead of pulling away, he ran about two seconds a lap slower than typical race laps to save fuel. Others behind did the same. That kept the field closer together.
“When you’re that nose-to-tail, there’s just an accordion at the end of the straightaway,” Larson said. “Everybody starts lifting earlier and earlier and earlier. I could just pop out kind of late, I felt like, catch them off guard some and make the move.
“It was pretty easy until I got to the top six probably or seven. I think they, I’m guessing teams were kind of communicating to their drivers what I was doing. The pace got just a little bit quicker.”
Larson passed Kyle Busch in Turn 4 for seventh on Lap 144.
Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Denny Hamlin, who was running fifth at the time, told Hamlin on the radio: “You and (teammate Christopher Bell in sixth) have to start making dirty air on (Larson).”
Bell tried to block but Larson got underneath him in Turn 1 on Lap 146 for sixth place.
NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton said after Larson’s move: “Now Larson is to Hamlin. Those blocks, Larson is just not having it. He is driving deep in the corner, putting those guys in a bad situation.
“I think it’s a different ballgame right now. I think Larson is controlling this race.
Larson dived under Hamlin two laps later in Turn 2.
Burton said on the broadcast: “What Larson did was he lifted early. He lifted early. Hamlin drove in deep. Hamlin got tight behind (Daniel) Hemric (running fourth at the time). Larson had forward momentum on corner exit. That is great driving by Larson.”
Larson was fifth. He got by Zane Smith entering Turn 3 for fourth. Three laps later, Larson passed Hemric in Turn 3.
Gordon said he sees a lot of creativity in what Larson does and credits that to the driver’s upbringing in racing.
“I think a lot of great drivers have it,” Gordon said of Larson’s creativity. “Especially with his dirt background, you have to have that ability, or you learn that you’ve got to search around the racetrack to find speed or find ways to pass. There’s not a lot of grooves here. We know it’s very narrow. You’re playing in a very tight window.
“Even he said it to me when I talked to him after the race. Yeah, I was just surprising them. That’s sometimes a method that works. But then the spotters are telling the next drivers, ‘Hey, he just dove in and made a pass here.’ Then that driver understands and they learn and start looking.
“Then you got to try something else. Whether it’s get to their outside, arc in, get a run off the corner, force them into the corner to overdrive it. Whatever it may be, you have certain things at your disposal.”
Larson admitted that “it got tougher once I got to third, I was kind of stuck at that point. My only hope then was that they were going to run out of fuel. Then, yeah, we had the yellows and the cautions, and ultimately things worked out.”
A key moment came when Keselowski headed to pit road out of gas as the field came to the overtime restart. Larson was behind Keselowski on the inside lane and moved in to fill the spot alongside Ryan Blaney, who was on the outside of the front row.
Blaney was upset that NASCAR didn’t call off the restart to allow him to take the preferred inside lane. Blaney chose the outside line to avoid Keselowski in case he ran out of fuel. Larson’s team had a different strategy.
“We had a lot of communication on our radio about Brad was going to be really close on fuel, he may run out of fuel under these cautions,” Larson said. “I was going to choose behind him no matter what lane he took just in hopes that he would run out before we got to the restart zone.
“I was trying to pay attention to (Keselowski) when he was cycling his engine, trying to clean and warm his tires up just to see if there was any bit of stumble. Yeah, he just ducked off onto pit road. I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is going exactly how we had kind of hoped and had thought about.’”
Larson got by Blaney off Turn 1 on that restart to take the lead.
“I’m the one getting screwed, so the third-place guy is benefitting, the guy behind me is benefitting,” Blaney said of Larson moving up to Keselowski’s spot for the restart. “It’s one of those weird, like, you don’t see that very often … If it was any other place, it’s not going to be as bad because the second lane, you can kind of, all the other places, you can maintain. Here, it’s just a death sentence. You’re not maintaining the lead from the top on the front row.”
A crash behind them led to a red flag and a final restart. Larson pulled away for the win, giving him victories in three of the sport’s four crown jewel races: Brickyard 400, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. Larson needs only a Daytona 500 win to claim a victory in each of those prestigious events.
Afterward, Larson got to celebrate with his team, car owner Rick Hendrick and Gordon.
“I got to take a picture with Jeff Gordon, him and I, on the bricks together with the trophy a little while ago,” Larson said. “That’s something that I’ll probably hold onto for a very long time because, yeah, he means a lot to all us drivers that are my generation who probably wouldn’t … be here today if not for him paving the way.”