The weekend sweep is an extremely rare achievement in NASCAR. To go out and run the Cup, Xfinity and Truck races on the same weekend is impressive enough, but to win all three? That’s at another level entirely. It’s only ever happened twice in the history of the sport and it was the same driver both times — Kyle Busch. The track was also the same — Bristol Motor Speedway.
Another Kyle has been actively trying to join this exclusive all-Kyle club and his name is Kyle Larson. Earlier this year, the Hendrick Motorsports driver came agonizingly close to completing the sweep at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He rebounded from a late-race spin to win the Truck race and passed his teammate in the closing laps of the Cup race to win that as well. Surprisingly, the one jewel missing in this triple crown was his most dominant showing of the weekend. Larson drove off with the lead in the Xfinity race, lapping most of the field with over 16 seconds between him and the second-place car. However, a late-race caution and awkward restart left him seething over what could have been. In his post-race interview, Larson’s mind was already moving towards his next chance at the weekend sweep — Bristol this very weekend.
And Larson has some extra motivation to get the job done. He’s coming off a race at Darlington which was not his best, and that’s being kind. Larson spun all on his own exiting Turn 2 less than five laps into the race. He returned to the track after repairs but while running over 160 laps down, he inadvertently triggered the final race-altering caution when he abruptly slowed for a car tagging the wall. Larson got turned from behind and crashed into the very same wall at the exit of Turn 2 again. He did not provide any post-race comments to the media.
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Larson will pilot the No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in the Truck race on Friday, the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the Xfinity race on Saturday, and of course, his usual No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the Cup race on Sunday. That’s over 1,000 laps of racing at the treacherous half-mile short track where things can go very wrong, very fast. It seems like a near-impossible feat, but Busch did it twice.
So, how exactly did KB accomplish what no other driver could? For a glimpse at what Larson may be facing, let’s take a look at how Busch handled it:
2010 – Taking on Bristol … and Brad
The Truck race went like many Truck races do when Busch shows up. He earned pole position, led over half the race, and captured the checkered flag with relative ease. Even an overtime restart failed to create much of a challenge as Busch remained fully in command of the lead until the race-ending caution. However, much like Larson’s failed Homestead attempt, the battle for the win in the Xfinity race ended up being the most dramatic.
Busch had to fight hard against another Cup Series driver in Brad Keselowski. The two drivers ...
