Larson and Hamlin both made their final green flag pit stop in Sunday’s race on the same lap in the final stage, but Larson was able to get off pit road first and held the lead when a caution interrupted the cycle of stops.
Hamlin, however, grabbed it right back on the ensuing restart as Martin Truex Jr. hit Larson from behind and the remainder of the race turned into a cat and mouse chase that Larson felt he had little chance to win.
“I went late in the zone. Martin was trying to time it behind me. He hit me right when I wanted to go. Screwed up. Got a lot of wheel spin,” Larson said about losing his lead on the restart on lap 329 of 400.
“He was kind of able to out-race me into (Turn) 1. His car was really good on short runs. I could pace it, get closer to him at the end of the runs.”
That’s exactly what took place as the race ended with a 62-lap green flag run.
Larson closed to within one or two car lengths in the final laps but Hamlin’s ability to shift lines on the track kept Larson at bay to the finish.
“It’s so easy to air block. Not that he was doing anything dirty or anything like that. It’s just so easy as the leader, especially at a place like this, to shut off the air on the guys behind you,” Larson said.
“I knew when I got within three car lengths, he was going to start moving around. I couldn’t really do anything. I was trying all sorts of different angles and speeds, all that. Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough I guess to do anything.
“That was a bummer.”
Still, it was a strong performance for Larson, who had to overcome a poor qualifying effort that had him start the race in 21st.
He quickly showed the speed in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet by racing his way to fifth at the end of the first 120-lap stage. He then captured the Stage 2 victory over his teammate Alex Bowman.
“Another stage win sounds good. Good points day. We would have loved to get a win,” said Larson, whose only Dover win came in 2019. “Always fast here at Dover. Just needed to be a little bit better on the restarts.
“I’ve lost a lot of races on restarts here. Just keep trying to get better.”
