BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Kyle Larson set out to win multiple races at Bristol Motor Speedway during a week of heartbreak for Hendrick Motorsports. He accomplished this in an extremely dominant fashion.
The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took the lead on Lap 39, swept the two stages, and led 411 of the 500 laps. He scored his 66th stage win, tying Martin Truex Jr. for the most all-time.
MORE: Full Bristol results
"Jon Edwards meant a lot to the 5 team, and a lot to the NASCAR Industry, too," Larson said about the longtime Hendrick Motorsports member who passed away this week. "Just good to get a win for him. Obviously, we don't want to be winning for him and his spirit, we wish he was here in person with us.
"But he is no longer here, so it's just going to be fun to celebrate, and I know he is smiling down on us. We had a damn good weekend, as he would say. A lot of fun, and I can't say enough about the team. The car they brought again here to Bristol was amazing and just makes it fun for me."
Larson held a careful pace early in Sunday afternoon's race. He started third and worked on managing his tires during the first 39 laps. However, he and the other drivers quickly noticed that the aggressive tire wear from last season's spring race was not present.
This is when Larson made his move.
"I was like, 'Screw it, I'm just going to go to the lead here and pick the pace up and maybe the pace will help lay the rubber down even more,'" Larson said.
"It did, and it turned into a normal Bristol track there for us. So really played in our favor. Obviously having track position helps a lot."
This race marked the second time in the last two seasons that Larson has dominated a race at Bristol after teammate Alex Bowman started from the pole.
This also happened in last season's playoff race. Bowman started from the pole and led 34 laps before Larson led 462. The 2021 Cup Series champion won both races while leading a combined 873 laps.
This win was the second of the weekend for Larson, who pulled triple duty at the Tennessee short track. He finished second in Friday night's Truck Series race and then won Saturday's Xfinity Series race after leading 276 of the 300 laps.