Kyle Larson Hits Jackpot, Wins at Las Vegas

Kyle Larson enjoys his second Las Vegas Cup race win on Sunday. (Photo: Aaron Brink | The Podium Finish)

LAS VEGAS — What a difference a year makes for Kyle Larson, particularly at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In fact, what a difference nearly seven months makes for the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California native.

After a controversial tangle with Bubba Wallace last year and a heartbreaking runner-up in March, Larson made sure he was essentially out of harm’s way, even when he got himself in a tricky situation in last Sunday’s South Point 400.

Starting from the second position, Larson, posting the eighth fastest time in Saturday’s practice session, showcased his long run pace from the get-go. Snatching the lead from pole sitter Christopher Bell on Lap 3, Larson dominated from the onset, challenged primarily by the likes of Bell, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.

Then, in Stage 2, trouble nearly ensued for Larson and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. On Lap 141, Larson had a life flashing before him moment when his car broke loose coming off Turn 2.

Rather than overcorrecting the car, Larson expertly let his car gather itself back up with an incredible save. Dropping from second to fifth, Larson was able to return to the fight when a caution on Lap 146 for Alex Bowman’s frontstretch caution prompted the lead lap contenders onto pit road.

Not long after, Larson was back in the fight, in contention and back to battling for the lead. By Lap 155, he retook the lead from Keselowski, about the only driver who challenged him with passing in a clean, competitive manner.

The sight of Kyle Larson’s fast No. 5 car was hard to not miss at Las Vegas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)

From there, Larson was in the hunt for the remainder of the race. Stage 3 was truly about the No. 5 team in terms of the pit crew and spotter Tyler Monn catalyzing their driver to be in the mix when it counted.

Taking the lead from Keselowski on Lap 223, it was not a straightforward path to the winner’s circle. Bell made it an interesting race for the victory as he closed the gap to a matter of car lengths in the final laps.

On the final lap, Larson’s mirror became quite full with Bell’s distinct No. 20 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota Camry. Coming to the stripe, Bell mounted an admirable challenge, parlaying a good run off Turn 4 to try for a tenacious pass of Larson’s ride.

At the stripe, Larson, using an expert block from Monn’s spotting, bested Bell by 0.082 seconds. In this case, Larson celebrated his win like a team that won their league championship series in baseball.

Following a trademark, long burnout in a clockwise fashion along the frontstretch, Larson clambered out of his winning ride with zeal and gusto.

Naturally, Larson tipped his cap to Bell for a spirited, clean duel in the final laps.

“I could see him coming in my mirror, for sure,” Larson said. “Was hoping those lappers were going to give me the bottom. The 38 peeled off to the bottom. I knew I couldn’t follow him. I just didn’t want to go all the way to the top, leave the middle open.

“Thankfully, Christopher always races extremely clean. Could have got crazier than it did coming to the start/finish line. Thank you to him for racing with respect there.”

No doubt, Larson was the first to acknowledge his over-the-wall crew, Cliff Daniels, his crew chief, and his team at the Hendrick campus for his fourth win of the season.

Things got close between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell in the final moments at Las Vegas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)

“What a job done by my team, too,” he said. “Just a great race car. I almost gave it away there in (Turns) 1 and 2, getting sideways, hitting into the wall. Had to fight back there with our balance. They got it much closer there in the lead.

“I was happy to pull away as much as we did. Was hoping that was going to be enough to maintain, which it was. I thought they weren’t going to be able to get as close as they did there at the end. Nerve-wracking. Thanks to Chevrolet, HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, everybody involved in this deal. This is really cool to get to race in the championship in a few weeks. Glad we don’t need to stress in the last two races.”

Considering how Larson has been close to winning races before late race contact took him out of contention, he did not forget about Bell’s determined drive.

“Obviously, I’m happy because I won, but he’s always been a really fair, clean racer,” Larson said. “We’ve had numbers and numbers of battles in stock cars, but mostly in dirt track. I’m typically the one that is the aggressor or the aggressive one in our battles. Probably push the limit of being dirty sometimes.

“For him to continue to race me clean, I definitely have a ton of respect for him. Always have. In my opinion, he’s one of the best race car drivers in the world, and could do everything that I get to do outside of NASCAR if his team would let him.”

In the meantime, Larson sang his praises about Bell, praising him for his clean, tenacious approach versus the usual seen in today’s stock car scene.

“It’s just fun to get to battle with a guy like that,” he added. “I knew his car was going to be good the whole race. I got to lead right off the bat, then he was better than me there the first run. I knew he was going to be the guy to beat probably all race.”

Much like his efforts in 2021, Larson will be a part of the championship showdown. Then again, there are some differences.

“I mean, it’s tough saying,” he said. “I don’t really know anything about when I was in the Final 4 at Phoenix last time surprised me. I mean, although I hadn’t been in the Final 4 before, you’re still part of the race. It’s still another race. I think on that aspect it didn’t change anything then.

“Maybe I guess seeing how the media week is going to be different this year versus then. COVID a little bit then. I don’t know. I mean, I think more than anything, I’m glad I won and locked in, but I like that now I can go to Homestead, Martinsville and just race. You’re not really focused on points.”

Unlike his two most recent races at Las Vegas, Kyle Larson was nearly invisible. (Photo: Aaron Brink | The Podium Finish)

Such aggression will be in action as Larson and his team will opt for their Phoenix car for Sunday’s 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1. Valuable data and information will be gathered although the fifth and sixth wins of Larson’s season could come sooner.

“You can be a little more aggressive now, trying to, yeah, just win really is the goal,” he said. “At the same point, you don’t want to piss anybody off before we get to Phoenix, so that’s also a goal, is to race everybody fairly and not be a part of the story really the next couple weeks, other than winning would be great.”

On the other side of last Sunday’s finish at Las Vegas, Bell, who placed runner up, was a bit dejected about his result.

“I don’t know what else I could have done, so I don’t know,” Bell said. “I feel like that was my moment. That was my moment to make the Final Four. Didn’t quite capture it. I don’t know. Coming to the checkered there, I knew that he was going to be blocking, so I’m like, I’m going to try to go high. He went high. I don’t even know if I had a run to get by him there coming to the line.

“Just wasn’t enough. A great day, great day for sure to get the stage points, get a second-place finish out of it. I think I saw we’re minus two, so we’re not out of it by any means. It would have been nice to lock it in.”

Despite missing the cut for the Round of 8, Busch was determined to tally his fourth win of the year. Nonetheless, the Richard Childress Racing driver tallied his eighth podium of the season.

“Our weak spots are just restarts,” Busch said. “I just get into bad spots and lose spots at times and can’t get my way forward, like a couple of other guys can do a better job at doing that.

“But overall, just really pleased with the day. We made adjustments all day long. We rallied forward all day and there at the end, we were really good.”

Similarly, Larson had a good Sunday at Las Vegas. A terrific week that involved partaking in the Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Test for his 2024 efforts to winning at Las Vegas was great.

The fact that his No. 5 pit crew came through was not lost upon his mindset moments after his 23rd career Cup win.

The over-the-wall crew of Kyle Larson and the No. 5 team came through when it counted at Las Vegas. (Photo: Aaron Brink | The Podium Finish)

“I love cautions and I love pit stops,” Larson said with a grin. “I do. I look forward to coming down pit road. I have got a ton of confidence in my guys. They showed today why they’re one of the best on pit road.

“Hendrick Motorsports as a whole really, all four teams, even the development teams, all do a great job. That’s a huge thank you to the coaching staff and everybody there in the pit department. Yeah, they’ve had to work on it for sure. Last year we were on ranked great on pit road, where this year we’ve been in the top two or three all season long.”

No matter if it is a fast car, a tenacious driver or the right conditions, Larson is the first to point to his secret weapon for success — his team.

“I definitely look forward to coming down pit road right now because I know my guys can get me out in front,” he said.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Kyle Larson
2. Christopher Bell
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Kyle Busch
9. Kevin Harvick
10. William Byron

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Kyle Larson
2. Ross Chastain
3. Christopher Bell
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Brad Keselowski
6. William Byron
7. Kyle Busch
8. Ryan Blaney
9. Tyler Reddick
10. Bubba Wallace

South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Race Results

NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 Standings