Kyle Larson’s win at Las Vegas last Sunday was one of the most dominant Cup Series performances in recent times. He led 181 of the 267-lap race and won both stages, taking away an overall 60 points from his outing. With the driving artistry being all the talk for analysts and racing veterans since then, former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte has been no exception.
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Letarte dissected Larson’s incredible show of defense skills through the 400 miles and noted the key moves that led him to win the battle against 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick. One such move that the crew chief highlighted came in the 265th lap when Larson was holding off Reddick from taking the lead.
Heading down the backstretch, Reddick had complete momentum to make the pass as he ran high against Larson. But as Letarte points out, Larson followed Reddick’s move and ran high as well rendering too little space for the latter to make the pass. He said, “I think this is so interesting because the #5 car, down the lane, he could easily be up here in front of Reddick.”
He continued, “But instead, he is down here a lane and I think it’s by choice.” Letarte contended that by choosing to not run high, Larson was protecting himself from Reddick running down a lane to pass him. He added, “And then, as we play forward, you see the #5 sliding up on purpose playing defense, blocking that opportunity.”
.@SteveLetarte and @ToddBGordon with an in-depth look at the defensive moves @KyleLarsonRacin used to hang on for the win at Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/gyfonsnQcb
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 6, 2024
Reddick ended up finishing both stages in 2nd place, behind Larson, and ultimately the race itself in a similar fashion. He earned 53 points at day’s end and was the best-performing Toyota on the track.
Tyler Reddick’s take on the defensive moves from Kyle Larson
Frustration ran high for Reddick after losing against Larson despite his best efforts. The 28-year-old spoke to the media after the race and credited Larson for his move to block both lanes. He said, “He just never let me have it. I kept trying to run higher and higher and he was kind of running right in the middle of the racetrack there, was kind of pretty efficient to block both lanes.”
One of the biggest blocks that came Reddick’s way was his team’s struggles on the pit road. He had a never-ending 13-second pitstop in the 211th lap of the race and also went too far into his pit box at the end of stage 1. As a result, he finished Stage 1 at 2nd place and began Stage 2 at 16th place. While he did eventually find his way to the front of the grid, Larson proved to be too good for him on the day.
