Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet led 411 of 500 laps enroute to a resounding victory in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was his second victory of the 2025 Cup Series season and 25th overall for Hendrick Motorsports, ranking him third behind only Jeff Gordon (93) and Jimmie Johnson (83).
Larson started the race in third and ran in the top five until lap 40 when he took the top spot and led the rest of stage one. After a four-tire stop with fuel and an adjustment to free up the car, Larson started the race’s second stage out front. The caution flag flew on lap 177, and crew chief Cliff Daniels and the team decided to remain on track.
The field restarted with 62 laps remaining in stage two. Despite a tightening car, Larson stayed out front to capture consecutive stage wins. After another stop for four tires and fuel at lap 258, Larson led the field to the race’s final stage restart.
On lap 391, the No. 5 team made its final stop of the race. Under a green flag, the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet received four fresh tires and fuel before reentering the race in 12th. Once the field cycled through their green flag stops, Larson recaptured the lead with 61 laps to go. After fending off a charging Denny Hamlin at the end, Larson crossed the finish line in first to collect his 31st career Cup Series win.
The dominant performance at Bristol helped Larson gain two spots in the Cup Series standings. He now sits in fourth, only 42 points behind points leader and Hendrick teammate William Byron.
Sunday’s victory rounded out a successful on-track weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. He also claimed the top spot in Saturday’s Xfinity race and finished runner-up in the Truck Series race on Friday, nearly completing the weekend sweep. All cars carried the HendrickCars.com colors.
“It’s fun,” shared Larson following Sunday's race. “I love this place because it is just so high paced and with traffic; just dicing it up and picking the right lines at the right time while conserving your tires. It’s like a 500-lap sprint car race. It just suits me and my style with quick decision making. I just love this place. I think a lot of us do here in this series. Just had another good race."
It was a special weekend dedicated to the memory of the late Jon Edwards, who passed earlier last week. Edwards was the director of communications for Hendrick Motorsports and the regular at-track representative for Larson.
When reflecting on Edwards and what the race wins mean, Larson shared, “Yeah, it’s special. You know, Jon Edwards meant a lot to the 5 team, and a lot to the NASCAR industry, too. Just good to get a win for him. Obviously, we don’t want to be winning for him and his spirit, we wish he was here in person with us. But he is no longer here, so it’s just going to be fun to celebrate and I know he is smiling down on us. We had a damn good weekend, as he would say. A lot of fun, and I can’t say enough about the team. The car they brought again here to Bristol was amazing and just makes it fun for me.”
Next up – Talladega. The NASCAR Cup Series will take a one week break to celebrate the Easter holiday before returning to the infamous Talladega Superspeedway. Larson and the No. 5 team will look to continue the momentum from their top-five finish in last fall’s playoff race at the 2.66-mile-long track. Watch Larson and the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet take on Talladega on Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
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