5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 2nd
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No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
POINTS BREAK: Heading into the annual non-points NASCAR All-Star Race, Kyle Larson has been racking up points recently. Following the season’s 11th race at Kansas Speedway in May, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE ranked ninth in the driver standings, 144 markers behind the leader. Larson since has wins in the last two races along with three second-place finishes for a 1.6 average result in the last five events. In that span, he has moved up seven spots to second in the standings and now trails by only 47 points.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: Larson, who has three victories so far in 2021, has an automatic berth into the NASCAR All-Star Race at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. In 2019 when the annual event was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Elk Grove, California, native won the Open qualifier to gain entry into the All-Star Race, then led the final 13 laps to capture the victory in the exhibition event. Larson also won the Open in 2016.
FAMILIAR SIGHT: Five Cup Series races have occurred on 1.5-mile tracks in 2021 for a total of 1,526 laps. Larson has led 836 of those for a 55% share: Homestead-Miami Speedway (five laps led), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (103), Atlanta Motor Speedway (269), Kansas (132) and Charlotte (327).
LONE LONE STAR VICTORY: In November 2016, Larson led 30 laps to capture the win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The 28-year-old driver has three top-five finishes and four top-10s in 13 Cup Series starts at the Texas venue with his best finish of second occurring in 2017.
MORE THAN JUST A DREAM: This week at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, Larson will compete in the 26th and 27th running of the Dirt Late Model Dream. Last year’s event was postponed due to the pandemic and was rescheduled for Friday and Saturday while the 27th running is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Larson has competed in eight dirt late model events in 2021 with two victories, three runner-up finishes and a pair of third-place finishes. He did not start the April 17 heat races at Hagerstown Speedway due to an engine failure after setting fast time.
YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will 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.
ALL-STAR RACING: Hendrick Motorsports has won the exhibition event a record nine times with four different drivers: Jimmie Johnson (four victories), Jeff Gordon (three), Terry Labonte (1999) and defending winner Chase Elliott (2020). Hendrick Motorsports also holds the All-Star Race records for starts (115), top-five finishes (39), top-10s (64) and laps led (775).
LARSON MAKES 22: At Texas, Kyle Larson will become the 22nd Hendrick Motorsports driver to appear in the NASCAR All-Star Race. He will join Gordon (22 starts), Johnson (19), Labonte (11), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10), Ken Schrader (seven), Kasey Kahne (six), Elliott (five), Ricky Rudd (five), Geoff Bodine (five), Darrell Waltrip (four), Alex Bowman (three), Mark Martin (three), William Byron (two), Casey Mears (two), Kyle Busch (two), Brian Vickers (two), Joe Nemechek (two), Jerry Nadeau (two), Ricky Craven, Benny Parsons, and Tim Richmond.
FOUR STARS: On Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports will have all four of its Chevrolets appear in the NASCAR All-Star Race for the 20th time. Including 2021, the team has put four cars into the field in 18 of the last 20 years and has placed at least three in the All-Star Race for a record 22 consecutive seasons.
CARRYING MOMENTUM: Hendrick Motorsports is on a roll heading into the all-star break. The organization has won four consecutive points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races, sweeping at least the top-two positions in each, leading 842 of 946 laps (89%) and recording an average result of 5.7. Its finishes include 1-2-3-4 at Dover, 1-2-8 at Circuit of The Americas, 1-2-4-5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 1-2-9 at Sonoma Raceway. At NASCAR’s top level, no team has ever finished in both the first and second positions in five consecutive points races.
TMS EXPRESS: Although Texas Motor Speedway will host its first NASCAR All-Star Race this Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports has plenty of history at the venue. With nine points-paying wins, the team is tied with Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing for the track record.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on strategy for the All-Star Race: “I haven’t studied the format yet, but the plan is to get the best possible finish in each segment to give us the best possible starting spot when it matters. It’s a short race, so you have to be aggressive, and you have to be really aggressive on each restart. Our mile-and-a-half program has been solid all year, so I’m really looking forward to this Sunday.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what he can learn in the All-Star Race: “This is a track that is in the playoffs, so we’ll want to learn as much as we can this weekend. (No. 24 crew chief) Rudy (Fugle) said it best earlier when he said anytime your car is on track you’re learning. We want to take full advantage of this opportunity. One of the best takeaways from this weekend’s format is the way the rounds are set up, you’ve got to be able to pass.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
