Kyle Larson pulls away from Joey Logano to win at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson passed Joey Logano with 29 laps to go and went on to win his second Cup Series race of the season Sunday at Martinsville Speedway on a day when NASCAR welcomed back Chase Elliott.

Logano, who was forced to begin the race in the back of the field after his crew found a leak in his water tank prior to the start, finished second, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

Larson ended some frustration on a track that he said doesn’t suit his driving style, celebrating by doing a burnout on most of the half-mile, paperclip-shaped track.

“I never thought I would be here,” Larson said.

Logano said he tried to hold off Larson as long as he could but wasn’t upset about finishing second.

It was the 21st career Cup Series win for Larson and his 15th victory in the last three seasons.

Elliott, voted NASCAR’s most popular driver the last five years, finished 10th in his first race since breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident that forced him to miss six weeks.

Because he’s so far behind in the points race, Elliott likely needs a victory to get into the playoffs. He qualified 24th for Sunday’s race.

Polesitter Ryan Preece dominated early, leading the first 136 laps before a costly speeding penalty on pit row sent him to the back of the field. He never challenged again.

After winning his first career Cup Series pole Saturday, Preece added another first to resume when earned his first stage win. The 32-year-old Preece had led just 29 laps in his entire Cup racing career prior to Sunday.

Kevin Harvick, the winner of the second stage, was running near the front for most of the day until his right front tire went down because of a broken rim with 53 laps to go. Harvick had been seeking his 61st career Cup Series victory and first since last August.

The last time Ross Chastain was at Martinsville, he pulled off the “Hail Melon” move by slingshotting his way around the outside wall in turns three and four to vault past Denny Hamlin and secure a spot in NASCAR’s “final four” round of the playoffs.

There was no video-game move this time around as NASCAR outlawed the move and Chastain wasn’t much of a factor on Sunday, finishing 13th.

Two of Anthony Alfredo’s crew members can expect two-race suspensions this week after the No. 78 Chevrolet lost a tire on the front stretch during the race with about 98 laps remaining.

NASCAR heads to Talladega next weekend for the first of two races at the 2.66-mile course. Chastain won the spring race there last season, and Elliott captured the fall race.