It was a big night for Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) and a bigger night for Kyle Larson in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series All Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway.
The night began with the NASCAR All-Star Open. The 50-lap race was set for two rounds of 20 laps each and a third and final round of 10 laps. The winner in each round earned a spot in the night’s main event, the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Ross Chastain started the race from the back and was able to race forward to first by the end of the first round to advance to the All-Star Race. Tyler Reddick was able to capture the win in the second round to earn his spot in the main event. Aric Almirola was the winner in round three to also advance for a chance at the million dollar prize.
The final spot in the NASCAR All -Star Race was filled by the winner of the fan vote. That driver was Matt DiBenedetto.
The 21 drivers that now had a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race lined up to race for bragging rights and $1 Million!! The race consisted of six rounds that would total 100 laps at Texas Motor Speedway and only green flag laps would count. The first four rounds would consist of 15 laps each.
Kyle Larson scored the win in round one. There was a random draw for how many of the front spots would be inverted for the start of the next round. That random draw inverted the top 12 positions.
Ryan Blaney was the winner of the second round. There was a full-field inversion for the start of the next round.
Alex Bowman found the way to win round three of the race. Again, there was a random draw to determine how many spots at the front of the field would be inverted for the start of the next round. The random draw determined the first nine spots would be inverted.
William Byron won in the fourth round. The starting position for the next round was determined by adding together the finishing position of each of the first four rounds. The field was set from front to back by lowest to highest total.
The fifth round was a 30-lap battle. The drivers were also required to execute a four-tire pit stop at some point during their first 20 laps of the round. The team with the fastest pit time overall would win a $100,000 prize. Chase Elliott’s team was the winner of the fastest pit crew challenge. Chase Elliott also was the winner of the fifth round. That meant all four of the HMS teams won a round in the All-Star Race.
The way the drivers finished in round five is how they would start the sixth and final round of 10 laps to win the million dollar prize. During the first two laps of the final round Kyle Larson was able to race out to the lead. He was then able to hold off challenges from Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski to win his second NASCAR All-Star Race and the ONE MILLION DOLLAR PAYDAY!
See the complete results in the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway here.
The NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race is not a points race. However, that makes three consecutive trips to Victory Lane for Kyle Larson. It gives him four trips to Victory Lane in 2021. It also the second NASCAR All-Star Race he was in the last two he raced in. He won it in 2019 and did not race in the 2020 All-Star Race.
Up next for the NASCAR Cup Series is a trip to Music City USA. The drivers and teams get back to points racing in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
By: Buck Stevens
