Kyle Larson delivered an overwhelming performance at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday, leading 411 of 500 laps to capture the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race in dominant fashion. The victory held special emotional significance as Larson dedicated his win to Jon Edwards, his friend and PR representative who passed away suddenly during the week leading up to the race weekend.

“This one’s definitely for Jon,” said an emotional Larson after climbing from his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “He’s just a great guy. Successful weekend here. Wish he was going to be here with us to celebrate, but I know he’s celebrating with us in spirit.”

The win marked Larson’s second straight day of dominance at the Tennessee short track, coming just one day after he ran away with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the same venue. He nearly completed a historic weekend sweep, having finished second in Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race.

“Just a flawless race once again here at Bristol for the No. 5 team,” Larson added. “Really, really good car. That was a lot of fun.”

Despite a tense moment with five laps remaining when he brushed the outside wall at the apex of Turns 1 and 2—fortunately without consequence—Larson maintained his composure to finish 2.250 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who fell one spot short of securing his third consecutive Cup victory.

The race featured an extraordinary 235-lap caution-free run to the finish, allowing Larson’s superior pace to shine. After the final pit stops, Hamlin occasionally closed within a second of Larson in traffic but never seriously threatened for the lead.

“You have to give that team their due—just a dominant performance,” Hamlin acknowledged. “It looked like a pretty flawless day for them. It looked pretty easy. It was all I had to try to keep up there.”

Hamlin also took a moment to reflect on the recent losses in the NASCAR community: “This weekend, we are all thinking about Jon Edwards’ family, (racing journalist) Al Pearce, (team owner) Shige Hattori. We’ve lost a lot of great people in our sport over the last week, so our thoughts are with them.”

The victory was Larson’s second of the 2025 season, his second straight at the 0.533-mile high-banked short track, and the 31st of his career. He also swept both stages of the race, with the Stage 2 victory marking his 66th career stage win—tying Martin Truex Jr. for the most since stage racing was introduced in 2017.

Ty Gibbs rounded out the podium in third place, 6.679 seconds behind Larson, giving Joe Gibbs Racing two of the top three positions. Chase Briscoe finished fourth, while Ryan Blaney executed a long-run strategy, staying out for 175 laps on one set of tires before pitting, and recovered to finish fifth.

Pole winner Alex Bowman led the first 39 laps before Larson took command, but Bowman’s day ended prematurely when his engine expired. William Byron charged from 26th starting position to finish sixth, followed by Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and AJ Allmendinger as the last driver on the lead lap. Austin Dillon completed the top 10 as the first driver one lap down.

With this victory, Larson and Hendrick Motorsports continue to build momentum in what promises to be a highly competitive NASCAR Cup Series season, while honoring the memory of a valued team member and friend.

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images