The memories of the late Kyle Busch were everywhere in Las Vegas this weekend. From tributes honoring the hometown NASCAR champion to streets and a bullring renamed in his memory, the sport made sure its first return to the city since his tragic death in May was about more than racing.
Kyle Larson added a tribute of his own, one that became increasingly meaningful as Sunday’s South Point 400 unfolded.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver brought a familiar look to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, racing a No. 5 Chevrolet in a throwback paint scheme reminiscent of one Busch drove to victory at Bristol in 2007. The two Kyles were friends, and their differences in stature provided a running joke. Busch, who stood six feet tall, affectionately called the considerably shorter Larson “Tiny Kyle.”
Larson and Hendrick Motorsports embraced the nickname, placing it above the driver’s-side window. It was a small detail, but one that carried plenty of meaning.
Unfortunately, the car underneath that tribute seemed determined to spoil the occasion.
Larson started fifth but quickly discovered he had a fight on his hands. The No. 5 Chevrolet struggled to find speed, and a lengthy pit stop to make substantial adjustments dropped him a lap behind the leaders. A timely caution allowed Larson to take the wave-around and return to the lead lap, but he ended the opening stage in 24th place.
It was hardly the start anyone at Hendrick Motorsports had envisioned for a car carrying such a personal tribute.
“We were a fight all day long for this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team,” Larson said. “I was surprised about how far off we were there in that first run. I was just doing all I could to hold onto it and get to the pit stop.”
Crew chief Cliff Daniels and the team kept working, gradually bringing the car to life. Larson’s afternoon began to turn late in Stage 2, when a strategic decision to stay out during a round of green-flag pit stops helped him salvage a 10th-place stage finish and improve his track position.
From there, the comeback gathered momentum. Larson started the final stage inside the top 10 and steadily worked his way toward the front, turning what had looked like a forgettable afternoon into a genuine shot at victory.
Chase Briscoe, however, had other ideas.
As the laps wound down, Larson closed on the race leader and began applying pressure. He was gaining ground, but his tires were fading, leaving him with a dwindling window to make a move. Larson knew what was at stake, and he wasn’t about to settle for second without a fight.
On the final lap, he made one last attempt to steal the win. Diving into the final corner, Larson carried his momentum to the outside wall in a move that looked more like something attempted with a video-game controller than a $2,000,000-plus race car. Sadly the result was considerably less forgiving than a reset button.
Larson hit the wall, corrected too aggressively and slid into Tyler Reddick, sending Reddick sideways and across the infield grass. Somehow, Larson kept enough control to limp across the finish line in second place behind Briscoe.
It wasn’t the victory he wanted, particularly with the throwback scheme honoring his friend. But the fight to get there offered its own kind of tribute.
“I just tried to stay patient, but my tires were getting kind of burnt off by the time I got there,” Larson said. “I did what I could to try and win. We did a decent job with it, but I was just trying to push it through (turns) three and four to build some momentum at him and try to get by him down the straightaway.”
The final corner proved to be one gamble too many. Larson admitted he got loose and overcorrected into the wall, though he was thankful to salvage second place after the near-disaster.
“It got exciting, for sure,” he said. “I wish I could have won in this paint scheme while honoring Kyle because that would have been in very Kyle Busch fashion, but again, it was a great fight by this team.”
That last observation might have been the most fitting part of the afternoon. Busch was never one to do things quietly, and Larson’s determined charge, capped by a last-lap attempt that nearly turned spectacularly wrong, was a reminder of the sort of racing spirit the tribute was meant to celebrate.
Larson left Las Vegas without the trophy, but with his championship position intact and a substantial points advantage. Tiny Kyle may not have stood in Victory Lane, but after spending much of the afternoon fighting simply to get back into contention he could stand tall. After all he certainly made himself—and his friend—remembered.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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