Kyle Larson dominates Cup race at Kansas to take 3rd win of the season

Kyle Larson had the most dominant car this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

After securing the pole position for Hendrick Motorsports with his No. 5 car, Larson dominated by leading 221 of the 267 laps, winning both stages, and effortlessly securing his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.

He faced no competition from Christopher Bell, who finished second, and, unlike last year, he didn't need a last-lap pass to clinch the win.

Larson, who has also claimed victories at Homestead and Bristol, has placed in the top four in his last four Cup Series races. He will now carry that momentum to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Tuesday, Larson will hit the track as he embarks on another attempt at "the Double" — completing every lap of both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day during Memorial Day weekend..

Although Larson led for most of a hot, sunny day in Kansas, he was behind Chase Elliott at the start of the final stage. However, when Elliott's team prematurely dropped the jack before his right rear tire was secured during a pit stop, Larson regained the lead on the restart and comfortably maintained it for the last 50 laps to win the race.

Bell, who has already secured three victories, achieved a top-three finish for the sixth time this season. Ryan Blaney secured third place, providing Team Penske with another strong performance following Austin Cindric's win at Talladega two weeks ago and Joey Logano's victory last week at Texas.

Chase Briscoe secured fourth place, while Alex Bowman, Larson’s teammate, completed the top five.

Brad Keselowski appeared poised to secure his first top-10 finish of the season. Despite starting from the back, he steadily progressed through the field, and the 2012 series champion had climbed to second place behind Elliott when his right rear tire failed with 72 laps remaining. Keselowski hit the wall, dashing his chances of competing.