Kyle Larson pulls away from Joey Logano to win at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson passed Joey Logano with 29 laps to go and went on to win his second Cup Series race of the season Sunday at Martinsville Speedway on a day when NASCAR welcomed back Chase Elliott.

Logano, who was forced to begin the race in the back of the field after his crew found a leak in his water tank prior to the start, finished second, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

Larson ended some frustration on a track that he said doesn’t suit his driving style, celebrating by doing a burnout on most of the half-mile, paper clip-shaped track.

“I never, ever thought I’d have won here,” said Larson, whose win tied him for 38th on NASCAR’s all-time list. “This place has been so tough on me. It just does not suit my driving style at all. I like to charge the center and roll momentum. That’s not what this place is like.”

The speedway’s trophy is a grandfather clock — one Larson thought he’d never have to worry about bringing home.

“This is amazing,” Larson said. “I honestly have never thought that I would win here, so I don’t have a spot picked out for the clock. I’m going to have to make some space for sure.”

Logano was thrilled with his result, knowing he didn’t have the car to hold off Larson late in the race on a restart.

“We got lapped twice and at one point I would have been happy to finish on the lead lap,” Logano said with a laugh.

His luck changed when he stayed out on the track when he caught a timely yellow caution flag, helping him suddenly land in the top five and in contention to win.

“There are days when you are mad about second place, but today is not one of those,” Logano said.

It was the 21st career Cup Series win for Larson and his 15th victory in the past three seasons.

Elliott, voted NASCAR’s most popular driver the past five years, finished 10th in his first race since breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident that forced him to miss six weeks.

Because he’s so far behind in the points race, Elliott likely needs a victory to get into the playoffs. He qualified 24th for Sunday’s race.

Polesitter Ryan Preece dominated early, leading the first 136 laps before a costly speeding penalty on pit row sent him to the back of the field. He never challenged again.

After winning his first career Cup Series pole on Saturday, Preece added another first to his résumé when earned his first stage win. The 32-year-old Preece had led just 29 laps in his entire Cup racing career prior to Sunday.

“It was really tough,” Preece said. “I shouldn’t have been in that position. But on the bright side we know what we are capable of. We’ve just got to keep digging.”

Kevin Harvick, the winner of the second stage, was running near the front for most of the day until his right front tire went down due to a broken rim with 53 laps to go. Harvick had been seeking his 61st career Cup Series victory and first since last August.

The last time Ross Chastain was at Martinsville, he pulled off the “Hail Melon” move by slingshotting his way around the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4 to vault past Denny Hamlin and secure a spot in NASCAR’s “final four” round of the playoffs.

There was no video game move this time around as NASCAR outlawed the move and Chastain wasn’t much of a factor on Sunday, finishing 13th.

Two of Anthony Alfredo‘s crew members can expect two-race suspensions this week after the No. 78 Chevrolet lost a tire on the frontstretch during the race with about 98 laps remaining.

NASCAR heads to Talladega next weekend for the first of two races at the 2.66-mile course. Chastain won the spring race there last season and Elliott captured the fall race.