Kyle Larson had a strong Saturday at Las Vegas, annular solar eclipse and all. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
LAS VEGAS — As one of the eight drivers still standing in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Kyle Larson is brimming with confidence at Las Vegas.
After surviving the tough, treacherous Round of 12, the 31-year-old racer is amped up about his chances to win his second Las Vegas Cup race. In his past five starts, Larson has an average finish of 10.0, a clear testament to his comfort and swagger at this intermediate track.
Most recently, Larson had a chance to capture his second Las Vegas Motor Speedway win in his 14th start. However, a late race restart duel with William Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, changed those plans, as he placed runner-up in the spring race showdown.
Now, he enters Sunday’s South Point 400 aspiring to better that result by a position. Before taking on the distinct 1.5-mile racetrack, Larson considered his chances in the Round of 8.
“I’m looking forward to the next round,” Larson said in a team press release. “It has some good tracks (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway) for us.
“We really hope to have a solid next few races that can advance us into the Championship 4 and then I feel like we could have a really good shot at Phoenix (Raceway). Thank you to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s the best organization in NASCAR and I’m very grateful to be at such a great place.”
It is evident that Kyle Larson is fast and competitive for Sunday’s race at Las Vegas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
Larson has seen the hard work and effort by his Hendrick comrades, rallying around him after a practice crash last weekend at the Charlotte ROVAL. His team and those at the Hendrick campus worked ardently on his backup car which he drove from 36th to 13th last Sunday.
That result was enough for him to advance into the Round of 8, ranked fourth and just 17 points away from Byron, the leader.
It seems some fortune was on Larson’s side during Saturday’s practice round when he avoided potential disaster.
“Las Vegas is a good track for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team,” he said. “I felt really good in practice. I was able to get lucky in avoiding a tire failure, so I feel good about that. And then in qualifying, getting on the front-row is good, as well. We’re off to a good start. We just have to piece it all together tomorrow.”
Like a skilled hockey goalie, Larson had a glove save and a beauty, sparing his fast Camaro from an encounter with the SAFER barrier.
“I felt a vibration and I felt like my car yawed out a little more off of (Turn) 2,” he said. “I just pulled in and thankfully we did because it wouldn’t have made it through 3 and 4.”
By far, the No. 5 team is throwing everything they have into the Round of 8. Namely, they have chosen their Darlington winning chassis, repaired and with a new body after the late race crash at Texas.
Clearly, the speed is there but as crew chief Cliff Daniels points out, it goes beyond incredible pace on the track.
Cliff Daniels looks on as Kyle Larson clambered into his No. 5 car at Las Vegas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
“The No. 5 HendrickCars.com team is headed to Vegas looking for a really solid weekend,” Daniels said. “Our intermediate package has been close lately and the Hendrick Motorsports cars have had speed.
“Our team has been doing a really good job on pit road and a lot of things have been coming together. Our focus is making sure that we put the good things that we have together to execute a good race. You’re never out of it as long as you are able to execute and put the right things in the right place at the right time.”
All season long, the No. 5 pit crew has been one of the leading over-the-wall brigades with their stops, consistently less than 10 seconds and sometimes flirting in the eight second range. Likewise, it was the pit crew that put Larson in position to capture his first career Cup championship two years ago at Phoenix Raceway.
The path to a second championship is just four races away but it is not all that simple. Still, Larson is like an ace pitcher who knows he can throw his fastballs and portfolio of pitches to get the strikeouts and complete game effort in a postseason series.
“Yeah, it’s a good round of tracks for us,” Larson said. “With Las Vegas and Homestead, I would love to get off to a good start (and) get some solid points. If you can get a win, obviously that would be amazing. But (we) just want to put in some solid races and try to give ourselves a good opportunity when we get to Martinsville.”
