5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 6th
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No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
SUPER START: The 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway are the only two superspeedway tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In the season-opening DAYTONA 500 in his Hendrick Motorsports debut, Kyle Larson had four opportunities to score championship points and he collected each time – one of only four drivers to do so. In the Duel qualifying races, points were awarded to the top-10 finishers in each and he finished seventh in his race. Points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers in each stage during the NASCAR Cup Series season, and the Elk Grove, California, native posted results of fourth and eighth in the two DAYTONA 500 stages, respectively, before taking the checkered flag 10th in the 200-lap race.
DOZEN IN ‘BAMA: In 12 starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Larson has two top-10 finishes. He posted a ninth-place result in his first race at the Alabama track in 2014 while his best finish of sixth occurred in October 2016.
WOO BRISTOL: Larson is scheduled to race a sprint car in the World of Outlaws Bristol Throwdown April 22-24 on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track. Practice is Thursday and there will be a full racing program with 25-lap main events on Friday and Saturday.
I SECOND THAT: Through nine races in 2021, Larson has one win, four top-five finishes, secured eight playoff points and has led 379 laps – all second-most in NASCAR’s premier series. He currently sits sixth in the Cup Series driver point standings.
YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will again drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. From the convenience of home, customers can select the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com. The website also makes it easy for customers to find one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealership locations nationwide.
TRIO OF WINNERS: Courtesy of Alex Bowman’s win Sunday at Richmond Raceway, three different Hendrick Motorsports drivers have gone to victory lane in the first nine races of 2021, marking only the eighth time in NASCAR Cup Series history a team has done so. Hendrick Motorsports also accomplished it in 2007 and 2009, while Joe Gibbs Racing did it in 2016 and 2019. Other teams with three different winners in the first nine events: Roush Fenway Racing in 2005, Peter DePaolo Racing in 1957 and Carl Kiekhafer Racing in 1956. The earliest in a single season a team has won with four different drivers is race No. 12 by Hendrick Motorsports in 2007 and JGR in 2016.
TWENTY-SOMETHINGS: With William Byron (23 years old), Kyle Larson (28) and Bowman (27) already posting NASCAR Cup Series wins, Hendrick Motorsports has sent three drivers under the age of 30 to victory lane in 2021. It has occurred only two other times in NASCAR Cup Series history: Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009 and Hendrick Motorsports in 2020. No team has ever won with four different drivers under 30 in the same season. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the defending NASCAR champion, is 25.
TALLADEGA INSIGHTS: Hendrick Motorsports holds the record for Talladega Superspeedway wins in the NASCAR Cup Series with 13, one more than Richard Childress Racing. The organization’s victories have come with seven different drivers: Jeff Gordon (six), Jimmie Johnson (two), Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader.
SUPER STAT: With 28 total trips to victory lane, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest organization on superspeedways in NASCAR Cup Series history. Its points-paying superspeedway wins have come with 11 different drivers, the most of any team at the behemoth tracks of Talladega and Daytona.
TWO TO TIE: Hendrick Motorsports entered the 2021 season within striking distance of one of stock car racing’s most enduring achievements: Petty Enterprises’ all-time team record for NASCAR Cup Series victories. The legendary Petty organization captured the wins record from Carl Kiekhafer Racing more than 60 years ago when Lee Petty took the checkered flag at Orange Speedway on May 29, 1960, for the team’s 53rd victory. Its 268th and final win was delivered by driver John Andretti on April 18, 1999. With Bowman’s win at Richmond, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 266 points-paying Cup Series wins since Rick Hendrick founded the team in 1984 and currently needs just three to break the record at NASCAR’s highest level.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Talladega stress: “Hendrick Motorsports has really fast superspeedway cars, and that makes your job as a driver a little bit easier and a little less stressful. I say that, but Daytona and Talladega are always stressful. There’s always a big wreck that you hope to be in front of or avoid. Talladega has been hard on me. I’ve been upside down on the backstretch, and I broke a rib there a couple years ago in a crash. Daytona went well earlier this year, so hopefully Talladega will go well, too.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
