When Kyle Larson dabbles in the lower series of NASCAR, a historic level performance is bound to happen. That’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon. Larson was behind the wheel of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 Xfinity Series car at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was a weekend when the team remembers one of their key members, Jon Edwards, after he passed away this past week. Larson getting a win for the team meant a whole lot. Not to mention, he did so in a very dominant fashion.
There wasn’t much pressure on him throughout the 300-lap event. He led 276 of the 300 laps. His only real competition was other cars powered by HMS, which are the JR Motorsports cars. Larson put on a clinic outside of a massive wreck during the opening stage.
Kyle Larson Puts on a Clinic in NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Bristol
Qualifying on the pole got his day off to an easy start, and the No. 17 of Larson didn’t look back leading the race’s first 78 laps.
Great start to Saturday! pic.twitter.com/WCTWN3OIdM
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) April 12, 2025
It was lap 78 or so when Sheldon Creed’s No. 00 got out of shape and was sitting idle near the outside wall. He looked clear and clean until Brennan Poole’s No.44 came slaming hard into the right side of Creed, ripping Poole’s car apart.
Big contact for the No. 00 and No. 44. pic.twitter.com/tPUjiwPcu8
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 12, 2025
It was a truly hard lick for both drivers. Luckily, both were okay. The caution set up a dash for the end of the opening stage. Despite Larson being the top dog, he wasn’t able to win the opening stage as a strategy call got Sam Mayer a very important Stage win.
A Stage 1 shootout!@sam_mayer_ pulls away for the stage win! pic.twitter.com/FAu34POsX2
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 12, 2025
Despite not winning the opening stage, the field couldn’t keep Larson at bay.
Larson Takes Full Control
Lap traffic was going to be the name of the game for the rest of this race, and it was. Kyle Larson regained the race lead for the whole second stage as he led for over 75-plus green flag laps.
Stage 2 winner: @KyleLarsonRacin!
And done in dominating fashion. 💪 pic.twitter.com/96RS9ULAbS
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 12, 2025
In doing so, he lapped a majority of the field. The final 119 laps saw a battle between Larson and Justin Allgaier for the race lead. Both have had a great history at Bristol Motor Speedway.
A bump and run from Kyle got him back to the lead on lap 191 following some green flag pit stops.
A bump to put @KyleLarsonRacin up in the lead. pic.twitter.com/fAX4dr27IU
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 12, 2025
The final run to the finish ended up being 75 green flag laps. But there was one more incident on track as Joe Gibbs Racing’s rookie driver William Sawalich got caught up in a crash with the No. 45 of Mason Massey.
Chaos continues at The Last Great Colosseum. pic.twitter.com/bsyC3E3RMx
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 12, 2025
Larson Conquers All
Despite the best efforts of all the JRM drivers, including Allgaier and rookie Carson Kvapil, they just couldn’t catch Larson during the final laps of this race. Even with heavy lap traffic and wearing tires, it wasn’t enough as Larson lapped everybody in the field up to the 12th position as he crossed the finish line to score his 16th-career Xfinity Series win.
It was a great moment for Kyle, and he spoke about how important it was to get a win for Jon Edwards’s memory. He was emotional in his post-win interview with the CW’s Dillon Welch.
For Jon. 💙 pic.twitter.com/KqvPjrzPxI
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 12, 2025
“Cool to get a win this weekend for Jon and everybody that’s been a part of his life,” Larson said. ” We got another one tomorrow and nothing better to cap it off with a Cup win for Jon and all of Hendrick Motorsports.”
Hendrick Motorsports has always been one big family, and what Kyle Larson was able to do in the Xfinity Series race was nothing less than special. The series heads to Rockingham next week, and with that comes the big return of Kasey Kahne to the series, so that should be fun.
Featured Image Credit: Sean Gardner, Getty Images. 4/12/2025
