Kyle Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday and made NASCAR history in the process. As mentioned by the Associated Press, the win by Larson gave Hendrick Motorsports its 269th NASCAR Cup Series win, the most in NASCAR history. The group was able to beat out Petty Enterprises, and owner Rick Hendrick gave praise to Richard Petty for what he’s done for the sport.
Unbelievable,” Hendrick said. “I can’t get in my brain around it right now. …Richard Petty is the king of NASCAR, and he has done so much for this sport.” The first win for Hendrick Motorsports game on April 29, 1984, when Geoff Bodine won the Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
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“With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said. “Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.” For Larson, 28, it was the second Cup Series win this season and the eighth of his career. And along with him winning, his teammates, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman finished in the top five in NASCAR’s longest race.
“It’s been better than I ever could have imagined,” Larson said per NASCAR.com. “For us to lead as many laps as we’ve got this year (a series-best 1,105), to contend for as many wins as we have and now to get our second win in a crown-jewel event, too, it feels great. “I’m just very lucky that Mr. H was able to put a deal (together) for me. It’s just awesome. I’m living a dream, for sure.”
Larson is having a strong 2021 season after being suspended in 2020. The suspension was based on an incident last year where he used a racial slur during a virtual race. Currently, Larson has put himself in a position to qualify for a spot in the playoffs.
“There’s multiple reasons I want to get back and do a good job,” Larson said when talking to FloRacing last year. “One, I want to show everyone that I am a good person and that I made a stupid mistake… I want to show people that I am not that person. There’s a lot to be proven on the personal and the professional side.”
