(Motorsport-Total.com) – Kyle Larson is finally back on the NASCAR stage! At the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Californian behind the wheel of the number 5 Hendrick Chevrolet celebrated his first win since being rehabilitated by NASCAR following his April 2020 suspension.
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Kyle Larson (Hendrick-Chevrolet) drove confidently to victory in Las Vegas
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After looking promising in the first three races of the season, Larson showed an absolutely convincing performance in Las Vegas on Sunday in the fourth race since his return and in the fourth race for Hendrick Motorsports (Fotos: NASCAR in Las Vegas)
With the most laps in the lead, Larson made his mark on the race and finally won with a sovereign three-second lead. Before his involuntary NASCAR break, which lasted almost a year, Larson last won in Dover in October 2019, at the time for Ganassi.
“It was just fun. I had a really good car. Many thanks to Mister H (Rick Hendrick; editor’s note), to Jeff Gordon and to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for the incredible opportunity that was presented to me . This is definitely something special, “said Larson.
Not to forget the responsible crew chief: Cliff Daniels, who has worked with Jimmie Johnson without a win for the past year and a half. For Daniels it is now the first ever cup win. One of the first congratulators via Twitter: Jimmie Johnson.
Larson scored his first win as a Hendrick pilot on the first outing with the blue and white paint scheme, which is modeled on the one with which Ricky Hendrick was once successful in the second and third NASCAR leagues. But the life and career of the young Hendrick came to an abrupt end. In the October 2004 plane crash in Martinsville, the son of team owner Rick Hendrick was one of the ten fatalities.
Tight racing at the beginning – Larson dominance at the end
Brad Keselowski (Penske-Ford) crossed the finish line in P2 behind Larson in Las Vegas. He congratulated with a handshake before he even gave his own TV interview and before Larson turned onto Victory Lane. It was there that Bubba Wallace (23XI-Toyota; 28th) was one of the first to congratulate Larson. P3 in the race went to Kyle Busch (Gibbs-Toyota), followed by Denny Hamlin (Gibbs-Toyota) and Ryan Blaney (Penske-Ford).
Before Larson put his stamp on the second and especially the third racing segment, there was close racing, as is customary in Las Vegas, since the current aero package for intermediate ovals was introduced.
Stage 1 and 2 as the first two racing segments went to Keselowski and Larson. In the first segment, Keselowski fought a thrilling duel with Chase Elliott (Hendrick-Chevrolet) for the lead, after both had fought for rounds with their respective teammates Joey Logano and Larson. The second segment then dominated Larson, the third also.
Elliott, who fought for the lead in Stage 1, spun in the middle of the field, fighting for the top 10 at the beginning of the last race segment, but without really hitting it. Having dropped back to 27th position, Elliott drove his way up to the checkered flag up to P13.
Logano, who also fought for the lead in Stage 1, finished the race on P9. This meant that the winner of the Las Vegas spring race of the past two years still made it into the top 10. Kevin Harvick (Stewart / Haas-Ford) did not succeed.
Harvick started from P1 according to the calculated starting grid, but fell back with understeer on the first lap. Later I got a puncture due to a contact in the crowd. In the end it was only P20 for Harvick, one lap behind.
The second and last stop in the shortened West Coast Trip 2021 is the one-mile oval in Phoenix (Arizona) next Sunday.
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