5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 1st
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No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
FIVE FOR FIVE: On Sunday at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Larson led the final 26 laps to capture his fifth points-paying victory of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE also visited victory lane at Nashville Superspeedway, Sonoma Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway this year. In June, Larson scored a $1 million payday in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway.
THREE WHEELING: Following the 26th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, playoff points will be awarded to the top 10 drivers in the standings with 15 markers awarded to first place, 10 to second, eight to third, seven to fourth, and so on. Larson is currently tied atop the standings but holds the tiebreaker with three races remaining in the regular season.
FIVE-STAR: Through 23 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), stage wins (12), playoff points (37), and laps led (career-best 1,468). He is tied for most second-place finishes (five), most top-five finishes (12), most top-10s (16) and most pole positions (one). Larson has also paced the field a series-high 88 times on road courses.
ROAD RACING ENTHUSIAST: In June at Sonoma Raceway, Larson won both stages and led 57 of 92 laps to capture his first Cup Series road course victory. Overall, he has 19 starts on road courses in the Cup Series with two wins, four top-five finishes, seven top-10s and four stage victories (second-most all-time).
THREE FOR THREE: Larson has scored three consecutive victories in three very different disciplines. On Monday night in a dirt sprint car, Larson won the Front Row Challenge at Oskaloosa Speedway in Iowa. Prior to his victory in a stock car at Watkins Glen last weekend, the 29-year-old driver won the World of Outlaws dirt late model Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway in Illinois on July 31.
SLIDE JOB: The 60th Knoxville Nationals is scheduled for Aug. 11-14 at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. In five Knoxville Nationals A-Main starts, Larson has scored four top-six finishes, including a second-place finish in 2017. Although last year’s event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elk Grove, California, native won the Capitani Classic held at the famed half-mile dirt oval. HendrickCars.com will appear on the No. 57 entry and on Larson’s uniform, gloves and helmet.
QUICK TIME: At 13.69 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew owns the quickest average time for four-tire pit stops in 2021. The over-the-wall crew is comprised of gasman Brandon Harder, jackman Brandon Johnson, tire carrier R.J. Barnette and tire changers Donnie Tasser (front) and Calvin Teague (rear).
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.
WE’RE HIRING: Hendrick Automotive Group is hiring more than 300 technicians at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Interested people can apply at HendrickCars.com.
PADDING THE RECORD: With Kyle Larson’s performance Sunday at Watkins Glen International, Hendrick Motorsports extended its NASCAR Cup Series record for all-time road-course victories to 24, which is 11 more than any other team. The organization has won on road courses with a series-high seven different drivers: Jeff Gordon (nine wins), Chase Elliott (seven), Tim Richmond (three), Larson (two), Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Rudd and Geoff Bodine. Hendrick Motorsports also has the most road course stage wins of any team with 11.
ROAD RUNNERS: In NASCAR Cup Series road races since 2018, Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane in nine of 13 events, including eight of the last nine. The team has won 10 of 24 stages (the most) and led more than anyone else with 502 of 1,140 laps (44%). It has posted four 1-2 finishes during the stretch, all coming in the last eight races.
DÉJÀ VU: Sunday will mark the Cup Series’ first-ever race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 27 years after NASCAR’s debut at the historic venue. On Aug. 6, 1994, Hendrick Motorsports won the inaugural event on the IMS oval with driver Gordon. Dating back to that race, Hendrick Motorsports has won six of the last 13 Cup events held on new tracks, including three of the last four. In 2021, the team has gone to victory lane at two of the three new tracks on the circuit: Elliott at Circuit of The Americas and Larson at Nashville Superspeedway.
INDY TRENDY: Although Hendrick Motorsports has never raced on the venue’s road course, it has posted a record 10 NASCAR Cup Series wins competing on the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval – twice the total of any other team. The organization holds the track records for Cup Series top-five finishes (27), top-10s (42) and laps led (1,030). Its five Cup pole positions on the Indy oval are tied for the most.
NINE ON THE LINE: Over the last 11 NASCAR Cup Series points races, Hendrick Motorsports has won eight times (most), scored six-runner-up results (most), finished 1-2 on five occasions (most), won 10 of 26 stages (most), and led 1,335 of 2,221 laps raced (60%). With 44 total entries across the most recent 11 events, the team has scored 21 top-five finishes (most) and 29 top-10s (most).
23 AND WE: After 23 of 36 points-paying races in 2021, the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable has won 11 times, which is its most ever at this time of the year. Its 16 stage wins are the most in history by any organization going into the 24th points race. Hendrick Motorsports has its most top-five finishes (36) and posted its fourth-most laps led (2,083) at the 23-event mark. The team’s 56 top-10s in 2021 represent the second-most by anyone ever at this point in a season.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on road course layout: “There is just a different vibe at Indianapolis – the history, the fans, the facility. I think it’ll be cool to run the road course layout this weekend and we all want to say we won the inaugural event. With my racing (in Iowa) this week, I’ll be watching a lot of tape of other series on the road course layout to familiarize myself with it ahead of practice on Saturday.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on pit strategy at Indianapolis road course: “We do think about the regular-season point standings and want to win it, but that hasn’t played into how we’ve called a race. All year long, we’ve been aggressive trying to get stage points and trying to maximize our day across the board. Everyone thought our strategy (of racing for stage wins and not pitting just prior to end of stages) at Sonoma (Raceway) was bananas, but it worked out. We’ll learn a lot during practice on Saturday, and that should help us refine the gameplan we have worked on this week.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
