In 2017, Kyle Busch accomplished what few thought possible. He swept all three NASCAR national series races at Bristol Motor Speedway, winning in Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup in a single weekend. Interestingly, this was not the first time when he achieved such a feat it was a repeat of his 2010 heroics. Amid the celebrations, a young Kyle Larson couldn’t help but express his admiration.
“Love him or hate him, I feel he is the most all-around talented driver I will ever witness in my lifetime,” Larson had said. At the time, he was still trying to carve out his own legacy. He respected Busch’s ability to dominate across multiple disciplines and wondered if anyone else could match it. Little did Larson know that one day he would come painfully close to matching Busch’s record, only to fall short in heartbreaking fashion.
NASCAR’s Homestead-Miami weekend presented Larson with a golden opportunity. The Hendrick Motorsports driver got the opportunity to drive in all three national series and etch his name in history books. He won the Truck Series race. He had the Xfinity race under control. And on Sunday, he battled through adversity to take the Cup Series checkered flag. But one painful moment on Saturday denied him the chance to match Busch’s historic feat. After his Cup win, Larson opened up about the heartbreak.
Kyle Larson isn’t over the Xfinity Series race heartbreak
Kyle Larson entered Homestead-Miami determined to pull off something special. He was racing in all three national series, hoping to join Kyle Busch as the only driver to complete the triple-header sweep. He got off to a strong start by winning the Truck Series race on Friday night, rebounding from a late-race spin to take the checkered flag. On Saturday, he looked unstoppable in the Xfinity Series. Larson dominated the field, leading 132 of 201 laps.
He built a 16-second lead over his closest competitor and was cruising toward victory. But NASCAR races are rarely straightforward. A late caution bunched up the field, setting up an overtime restart. Then came the defining moment—Sam Mayer made hard contact with Larson, knocking him out of contention. He dropped to fourth place, watching his dream slip away. However, on Sunday Larson came more determined and cautioned as he cruised through the field to clinch his 30th Cup series win.
After winning the Cup race, Larson didn’t sugarcoat his emotions. He was proud of the victory but couldn’t ignore the sting of the missed opportunity. “It was far from perfect. I gave up a spot and a half, almost two spots there, by getting in the wall too many times. I just had to keep plugging away at what I knew and what was good for me. Just a lot of gritty, hard work there today. One of the coolest wins, I think, in my Cup career just because of all the heartbreak I’ve had here, the heartbreak yesterday, and to just keep my head down and keep digging feels good,” he said.
Notably, Larson’s Cup win didn’t come easy. He started deep in the field after a poor qualifying run. He battled through multiple bad restarts and even suffered damage on pit road. At one point, he fell outside the top 10. But as the race wore on, he kept grinding. In the final stage, he mounted his charge. With 11 laps to go, he passed Bubba Wallace. Then, he chased down his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. With seven laps remaining, Bowman slipped up and scraped the wall in Turn 4. Larson seized the moment, powered past, and never looked back.
This is a developing story.
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