Kyle Larson delivered a commanding performance at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, securing an emotional victory in the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race.
For the second consecutive day at the Last Great Colosseum, Larson showcased his prowess, this time dedicating the win to his friend and PR representative, Jon Edwards, who tragically passed away earlier in the week.
Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, led an overwhelming 411 of the 500 laps, sweeping both race stages. This marked his second Cup Series victory of the 2025 season, his second consecutive at the 0.533-mile high-banked oval, and the 31st of his career.
The win came just a day after Larson dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the same venue, falling only one position short in Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of achieving a weekend sweep.
“This one’s definitely for Jon,” an emotional Larson stated after the race. “He’s just a great guy. Successful weekend here. Wish he was going to be here with us to celebrate, but I know he’s celebrating with us in spirit.”
He added, “Just a flawless race once again here at Bristol for the 5 team. Really, really good car. That was a lot of fun.”
Despite a minor brush with the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 with five laps remaining, Larson maintained his composure and finished 2.250 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. Hamlin, who was seeking his third consecutive Cup Series win, had to settle for second. His teammate, Ty Gibbs, finished third, 6.679 seconds behind the leader, in a race that saw an extended green-flag run of 235 laps to the finish.
“However, many laps of green we ran there was a lot of fun,” Larson commented. “I was pretty comfortable with things, and then Denny came on really strong there before the pit cycle and kind of kept the pressure on from there.”
Following the final round of pit stops, Hamlin managed to close within a second of Larson in traffic but was ultimately unable to mount a serious challenge for the lead.
“You have to give that team their due – just a dominant performance,” acknowledged Hamlin. “It looked like a pretty flawless day for them. It looked pretty easy. It was all I had to try to keep up there. I’m glad we were able to give him a little bit of a run with our Progressive Toyota.”
Hamlin also paid tribute to others the NASCAR community has recently lost, saying, “But this weekend, we are all thinking about Jon Edwards’ family, (racing journalist) Al Pearce, (team owner) Shige Hattori (all of whom passed away within the last eight days). We’ve lost a lot of great people in our sport over the last week, so our thoughts are with them.”
Reflecting on his battle with Larson, Hamlin added, “Wish we could have got one more spot, but I just wanted to keep him honest there at the end. That was all I was trying to do, but he was a little too much to handle.”
This race marked the seventh time Larson and Hamlin have finished in the top two positions, with Sunday being the first instance of Larson securing victory in those head-to-head finishes.
Contrary to expectations based on Saturday’s practice sessions, the concrete surface at Bristol developed a significant grip as the tires provided more rubber and grip to the surface and tire wear did not become the critical factor many teams had anticipated.
Ryan Blaney, for example, completed an impressive 175 laps on a single set of tires before his final pit stop on Lap 440.
Chase Briscoe finished fourth, completing a strong showing for Joe Gibbs Racing with three of the top four positions. Blaney’s extended final stint allowed him to lead 48 laps after Larson pitted on Lap 390, and he ultimately recovered to finish fifth.
Pole sitter Alex Bowman led the initial 39 laps before Larson took control for the first time. Larson went on to win the first stage over Hamlin and the second stage over Bowman, whose race ended prematurely due to an engine failure.
Larson’s Stage 2 victory was the 66th of his career in stage racing, equaling Martin Truex Jr. for the most stage wins since the format was introduced in 2017.
William Byron showcased a strong recovery drive, finishing sixth after starting from the 26th position. Ross Chastain claimed seventh, followed by Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger, who was the final driver to finish on the lead lap. Austin Dillon rounded out the top 10, finishing one lap down.
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