5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: N/A
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No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
NEW BEGINNING: In October 2020, Hendrick Motorsports announced Kyle Larson would partner with crew chief Cliff Daniels in the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, beginning with the 2021 DAYTONA 500. Larson has six NASCAR Cup Series victories, all with Chip Ganassi Racing.
OH SO CLOSE: In 2017, Larson led the field with one lap to go in the DAYTONA 500. However, his Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the final lap and he coasted to a 12th-place finish. In 13 starts at the 2.5-mile track, Larson has four top-10 finishes, including a 10th-place result in last year’s DAYTONA 500.
WINNER AT DAYTONA: In July 2018, Larson won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The Elk Grove, California, native led a race-high 40 laps en route to victory.
HOT START: In 2020, Larson scored three top-10 finishes through the first four races of the season prior to the schedule being paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only Kevin Harvick, who finished in the top 10 in all four races, had more.
A RETURN: The 28-year-old Larson will pilot the No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the season-opening DAYTONA 500, marking the return of the organization’s flagship car number. The No. 5 entry has 45 wins in NASCAR’s premier series with Hendrick Motorsports collecting 38 of those checkered flags. Larson will be the 10th driver to field the number for the organization and will look to be the seventh to record a Cup win behind the wheel. It was most recently fielded by Hendrick Motorsports in 2017.
ON GUARD: NationsGuard, a program that gives car dealers control of their F&I products and customer experience, will adorn the No. 5 Chevrolet during “The Great American Race” at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 14. It will also appear as the primary sponsor on the car at the DAYTONA Road Course on Feb. 21 and at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Feb. 28. For more information about NationsGuard, visit NationsGuard.com.
TWO-FOR-TWO: In January, Larson collected his second consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals victory, an annual dirt track event held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He followed it with a win in a late model dirt car at All-Tech Raceway in only his second start of the new year. In 2020, Larson had one of the most successful years in the history of dirt track racing, winning 46 total events across various series.
BACKING THE 5: On Tuesday, Feb. 2, it was announced that Cincinnati Inc. and Freightliner have joined Larson and the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team as primary sponsors beginning in 2021. Read more about it here.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to the DAYTONA 500: “I’m excited for Daytona for a lot of reasons. It’s great to be back in a Cup car with such an amazing organization that just won a championship. I’m looking forward to getting back in the garage with a lot of friends, competitors, and just getting into battles on the racetrack.”
Larson on being back in a Cup race car for the first time since last March:“I don’t know what to think about that. I’m nervous. I’m excited. Normally when you go to a new race team you can get some sort of testing to see how the cockpit feels or if you need to work on this or work on that. So far, I sat in the car and drove it around the parking lot at Hendrick Motorsports and we made a couple of adjustments.”
Larson on working with Cliff Daniels: “I’m definitely excited to have Cliff as my crew chief. He has a totally different style compared to other crew chiefs I’ve had before. He’s driven and he’s a perfectionist.”
Larson on getting acclimated to Hendrick Motorsports: “Hendrick Motorsports seems twice as large as what I’m used to. Meeting everyone is a bit difficult right now – especially when you can only see half of their face! But it’s cool to experience the winning culture and see all the resources. There are a lot of talented people that I’m excited to work with.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his team’s goals for the year: “Our goal is to win races and contend for the championship. How do you do that? You do that by stacking the fundamental building blocks. That’s communication, the way we work through problems and issues, the balance of the car, find speed in the car, make Kyle comfortable. All those things are the foundation. We want to set a path to get that established early.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
