Denny Hamlin reacts to Kyle Larson's Stage 2 save at Las Vegas

Denny Hamlin was watching in awe like NASCAR fans around the globe when he saw Kyle Larson’s insane save during Stage 2 at Las Vegas.

With the laps winding down about halfway through the race, Larson’s car got sideways, but he was able to save it before any real damage was done. Of course, the save became even more pivotal when Larson ended up winning the race, adding to the story of his awesome run.

After the weekend in Vegas, Hamlin took to his Actions Detrimental podcast, where he explained his role in Larson’s fantastic moment.

“I was probably a half-a-straightaway back when he made that save,” Hamlin said. “All I saw was smoke. So I didn’t know. Then I saw him dropping really quick. I think I got past him, maybe down the next straightaway. Yeah, it was down the next straightaway, on the front stretch. So I wasn’t too far behind him, but I did see it.

“I saw him comment, that he felt lucky that the wall was there, which absolutely helped him save it. But he’s got a good technique for saving a car. Like it’s the old lock-down, iRacing lock-down. The brakes. Then, even though he was dropping (like) a rock there, because he probably flat-spotted his tires, he got the caution that he needed. … It was pivotal to him getting his track position back.”

Alas, the save helped Larson find Victory Lane, and punch his ticket to the Championship 4, with three races remaining in the Round of 8. Hamlin believes Larson’s two-week buffer will work to his advantage, and it’s hard not to see why.

“What that means when some says, and you’ll see it a lot this week, Larson’s got an advantage. They’ll talk about Larson having an advantage because he can now shift his resources and thoughts into Phoenix,” Hamlin said. “What that basically means is that he’s going to spend extra time, instead of doing a bunch of work for Homestead, and meeting with his crew chief about Homestead this, Homestead that, how can we do this, what’s our strategy — they’ll shift their focus into, what do we need to do to run well and win at Phoenix? You know, while it’s a very, very small advantage, it is still an advantage. 

“He’s not having to hyper-focus hours and hours and hours on, what’s our strategy for this race or that race, or Martinsville. What are we going to do there? Do we need to run extra sim time? It’s not historically been a great track for him. He can forget all that. Pass that up, and go right to Phoenix, and apply that extra time.”

In the end, Kyle Larson’s save at Las Vegas could be one of the more important moments of the entire season, as the Hendrick star more than earned his victory at Las Vegas.