Kyle Larson was met by Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon following his second-place run in the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Larson narrowly missed out on his third win of the 2026 season in what turned into a thrilling battle between himself and Chase Briscoe in the closing laps at “Sin City.”
Despite missing out on another win, Larson extended his points lead over Denny Hamlin from 26 to 40 points.
Conversation Between Larson, Gordon at Las Vegas
One day prior to the South Point 400, Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day captured the win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas. Utilizing the high line of the 1.5-mile track, Day fended off JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil for the victory.
Larson had a similar plan in the closing laps of Sunday’s Cup race. Rim-riding the outside wall, the driver of the No. 5 made up significant ground on leader Briscoe in the waning laps.
Unfortunately for “Yung Money,” it would not be enough to catch the driver of the No. 19. After the race, Gordon jokingly compared Larson’s effort to Day’s.
“Yesterday, was Kyle Larson Jr., now it’s Corey Day Jr.,” Gordon said.
Larson acknowledged the difference was Day scored the win.
“He did a better job than I did,” Larson said.
Coming to the checkered flag, Larson slapped the outside wall and collected Tyler Reddick in a two-car crash off of turn 4. However, the two-time and defending Cup champion still managed a runner-up result.
“This was not an O’Reilly car,” Gordon said.
Had Day not driven the way he did on Saturday night, Larson said things might have gone differently.
“If Corey didn’t drive like that, I probably would have just settled in and finished third,” Larson said.
Watching from afar, Gordon was hoping Larson would try the outside line.
“I was like, ‘Go up there, go up there,’” Gordon said.
Because he did not follow through with the outside run, Larson said Day probably had some choice words.
“Corey’s probably yelling at me right now,” he said.
Gordon Called Larson’s Rally a ‘Championship-Caliber’ Effort
While the outside run did not pan out, Gordon believes Larson had the right intentions in mind.
“I’ll tell you what, it was the right idea. I mean, almost maybe a lap earlier,” Gordon said.
Larson said he did not want to take the high-line approach too early in case Briscoe caught on.
“I just thought if I did it too early, he might start to take my line away,” Larson said.
In the early stages of the race, a 26-second pit stop for Larson put him one lap behind. Ultimately, the No. 5 team was able to rally to earn a second-place finish.
The effort left Gordon amazed.
“I’m just so proud of you guys, man. That was a hell of a battle. I know that wasn’t fun in the beginning,” Gordon said.
It was not an enjoyable start to the race but Larson knows he made the most of it.
“It was not but it was fun at the end,” Larson said.
With a 40-point lead with five races remaining in the Chase, Gordon said it is performances like Sunday’s that make champions.
“That’s a championship-caliber effort right there,” Gordon said.
The Conversation Between Kyle Larson, Jeff Gordon After Las Vegas