The victory is the 20th of Larson's career, and his first of the 2023 season.
He becomes the sixth different winner in the first seven races, earning HMS its third win of the year. Berry, subbing for an injured Chase Elliott, took advantage of a late-race caution to finish second.
"It's really cool," said Larson. "We've been close to winning a couple. William (Byron) has been extremely good this year. It was going to be between probably him, the 19 (Truex), us, and the 20 (Bell) was really good. So just things worked out. My pit crew had a great stop. So shout out to Brandon Johnson. He is our jackman. He just turned 30 today. Our spotter, Tyler Monn, he turned 30 today. Great day for them guys.
"What an awesome Hendrickcars.com Chevy. Can't say enough about it. I got into the 99 (Suarez) on pit road there sometime in the second stage, and we were awful after that. I was hoping the damage was the reason why, but they had to calm me down a little bit and get refocused and was able to get it done.
"Thanks to everyone on this team, Cliff Daniels, for everything he does to prepare the team to be as strong as we are without him on the box. So good to get a win, and hopefully many more."
Ross Chastain was third, Christopher Bell fourth, and Kevin Harvick fifth. Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-ten.
Stage 1
Bowman led the field of 37 to the green flag with Kyle Busch alongside. Bowman held the lead early with teammate William Byron moving up to second.
Busch slid up into Chastain exiting Turn 4 as they battled for third, with Busch losing several spots after that. He complained of a loose condition.
Byron took the lead from teammate Bowman with an outside pass on Lap 11. Chastain then split the HMS cars, dropping pole-sitter Bowman down to third.
Stenhouse was making bold moves on the high side, charging forward into the top-five early.
The first yellow flag waved at Lap 30 for a pre-planned competition caution.
Chastain won the race off pit road, just ahead of the Hendrick drivers of Byron and Bowman.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had an extended pit stop to deal with a brake issue, and eventually went behind the wall. Denny Hamlin, who was ninth, was caught speeding and sent to the rear.
The first natural caution of the race was for J.J. Yeley, got got spun by Hamlin and hit the outside wall.
"That was very much on purpose ..." 👀 https://t.co/06W8jnnMIG pic.twitter.com/Iyy3DKXGbF
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 2, 2023
Chastain spun the tires on the restart, allowing both Larson and Byron to surge ahead.
Byron went on to win the stage, followed by Larson, Chastain, Harvick, Logano, Tyler Reddick, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski, and Chase Briscoe.
Stage 2
Byron remained the leader off pit road, while both Ryan Blaney and A.J. Allmendinger were caught speeding.
Byron skipped away from the field as Chastain and Larson battled for second.
The fourth caution of the race brought the field back together, due to a spin from Berry off the front bumper of Blaney.
Yeah ... he did have some help. https://t.co/OWSmkC5UJn pic.twitter.com/4Keew3JYsF
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 2, 2023
The entire field took the opportunity to get fresh tires with Byron leading Larson and Chastain off pit road.
Things went a bit wrong for Team Penske at this time with the crew going under the hood of Austin Cindric’s car and Logano forced to pit a second time to tighten the right-rear.
Larson passed Byron for the race lead with an outside pass on Lap 124, and immediately started building a gap.
Green-flag pit stops began just past the halfway point of the stage for most of the field. Chris Buescher and Berry pitted much earlier than everyone else, deciding to two-stop the stage.
Race leader Larson collided with Suarez on pit road, but appeared to escape the encounter without damage.
Blaney was penalized for removing equipment from the box with the wedge wrench still in the back window.
Larson cycled back into the lead, just ahead of Byron. Martin Truex Jr. started making big gains, moving into the top-five with a pass on Chastain.
Larson, battling a tight condition after the contact, lost the race lead to Byron with 33 to go in the stage. Bell then passed him as well.
In heavy traffic, Bell split the middle and took the race lead from Byron. The Hendrick cars continued to fade as the run continued with JGR drivers charging to the front.
Hamlin ended up passing teammate Bell for the stage win with just two laps to go. Behind Hamlin and Bell, the order was Byron, Truex, Chastain, Keselowski, Bowman, Larson, Harvick, and Ty Gibbs.
Stage 3
Hamlin remained in control after the restart, with Truex moving up to second. He closed in on his teammate, and hounded him as green-flag pit stops approached yet again.
Truex dove to the pits first with 111 laps to go. Many quickly followed. Hamlin pitted three laps after Truex, but a very slow stop proved costly. The team struggled to tighten the right-front wheel, causing Hamlin to fall back to 12th and 16 seconds adrift of the lead.
Not a good pit stop for the No. 23 and No. 11 teams. pic.twitter.com/a6eUfBZCxF
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 2, 2023
Truex cycled into the race lead, now ahead of the Hendrick trio of Larson, Byron, and Bowman.
Bubba Wallace, who was running just outside the top-ten, was penalized for a safety violation during his stop.
Soon after, Noah Gragson slammed the outside wall, forcing the sixth caution of the race.
All lead lap cars pitted, and Truex held the lead off pit road. Truex remained in control as conversations began about whether to no-stop or one-stop the final stint of the race.
With 55 laps to go, several cars started making what they hoped would be their final pit stops of the race. Byron was the first front-runner to do so. Race leader Truex followed soon after, pitting with 48 laps to go.
Bell and Hamlin hung on for a bit longer, but they too chose to pit. Keselowski then inherited the race lead, who pitted the very next lap.
Berry, McDowell and Todd Gilliland were the only ones to commit to the no-stop strategy.
Byron took the lead from Berry with 33 laps to go, with Truex close behind. Just as the battle for the race lead started heating up, a caution flew for a spinning Reddick.
Off pit road, Larson led Berry, Truex, Byron, and Harvick. On the restart, Bell got into Byron and sent the No. 24 car spinning.
A closer look. pic.twitter.com/Dm8Q2czwgS
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 2, 2023
Truex struggled on scuffed tires, tumbling down the order. While the Hendrick duo of Larson and Berry got away, Chastain moved up into third.
But no one had anything for Larson, who won the race and crossed the line 1.5 seconds clear of teammate Berry.
