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
FINAL FOUR: Kyle Larson led 256 laps – including the final 218 – to win the 334-lap race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. The 29-year-old driver secured one of four spots in the Championship 4 and will compete for his first NASCAR Cup Series title at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 7. The Texas win marked Larson’s second consecutive victory and eighth win of 2021.
CAREER YEAR: Through 33 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (eight), top-five finishes (18), top-10s (24), stage wins (16) and laps led (2,267) – all career bests. His laps led total is 868 more than the next-closest competitor.
LEADER OF THE PACK: Larson has led 1,187 laps on 1.5-mile tracks in 2021, the most ever by a driver during a season. In fact, the rest of the field has combined to lead just 13 more (1,200) on that type of track in 2021. Larson is the only driver with multiple victories (three) in races held on 1.5-mile layouts this year.
ONLY JG: Jeff Gordon is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to lead more laps than Larson during a season. In 1995, Gordon led 2,610 laps and he paced the field for 2,314 circuits a year later. In 2001, the four-time Cup Series champion led 2,320 laps – the benchmark for a 36-race schedule. Larson trails that record by 53 laps with three races remaining in 2021.
42 FOR LARSON: Along with eight wins, Larson has also posted runner-up finishes in six races. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has finished in the top two in 42% of the Cup Series races held in 2021.
SPORTING IN KC: In May at Kansas Speedway, Larson finished second in stage one and won stage two. He led a race-high 132 laps before contact with another car after a late-race restart resulted in a 19th-place finish. Overall, Larson has three top-five finishes and five top-10s in 13 starts at the 1.5-mile track.
UPPING THEIR GAME: At 13.63 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew owns the quickest average time for four-tire pit stops in 2021. During the playoffs, their average time is even quicker at a series-best 13.22 seconds. 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.
IT KEEPS ADDING UP: In March, Larson announced the launch of the Kyle Larson Foundation, which was established to better serve today’s youth, families and communities in need through hands-on support. The Sanneh Foundation and the Urban Youth Racing School are the primary beneficiaries of the foundation, which will also work closely with Hendrick Cares, the corporate social responsibility program of Hendrick Automotive Group. To kickstart the “Drive for 5,” Larson pledged a personal donation of $5 for every Cup Series lap he completes this season and will contribute another $5,000 for every top-five finish he earns. Through 33 races, he has already pledged more than $135,000 and raised nearly $200,000. To learn more, please visit KyleLarsonFoundation.org.
ONE-TWO PUNCH: Kyle Larson and William Byron finished first and second Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, which delivered Hendrick Motorsports’ sixth 1-2 sweep of 2021 – the second-highest total since the NASCAR Cup Series went to a 36-race schedule in 2001. With seven in a single season, Hendrick Motorsports (2009) and Joe Gibbs Racing (2019) have the most sweeps of first and second in that span. The all-time record is 10 held by Carl Kiekhafer Racing, which accomplished it in 1956 during a 56-race Cup Series season. In 1957, Peter Depaolo Racing did it six times in 53 events.
NIFTY 50: Following Larson’s Texas performance, Hendrick Motorsports has recorded 50 all-time wins during the Cup Series playoffs – 17 more than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing (33) and more than double third-place Penske Racing (24). In seven playoff events this year, the team has three victories – all courtesy of Larson.
ONE MORE SHOT: Entering Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports is within striking distance of the Cup Series single-season record for most laps led on 1.5-mile tracks. In 2005, the five-car Roush Fenway Racing organization led 1,515 laps in 10 races held on intermediates. This year, the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable has led 1,464 laps in eight events on 1.5-milers.
2021 FOR THE AGES: Hendrick Motorsports is having one of its best statistical seasons since Rick Hendrick launched the team in 1984. Through 33 points-paying events in 2021, the organization has 14 points-paying Cup Series wins – its second-best mark in a 36-race season and tied with 1998, which featured a 33-race schedule. Its best full-season victory total came in 2007 when it won 18 of 36 points events (50%).
BLACKJACK: Hendrick Motorsports has won 11 of the last 21 points-paying Cup Series races. Joe Gibbs Racing is the next-best team with four wins in that span.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his mindset ahead of Kansas knowing team is in Championship 4: “My mind is on Kansas. I want to go there and win. I have led a lot of laps there and come close to a couple of different wins. I want to go there and lead a bunch of laps and try and get another win and then look forward to Martinsville. I don’t want to change up what we have been doing; still take it week by week and do a great job every weekend and carry some momentum into Phoenix. I think it would be bad if we went to Kansas and Martinsville and had a couple of DNFs because we are ‘relaxed.’ Hopefully we can go through these next couple of weeks, have a few good runs and head into Phoenix with some good momentum.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on preparing for Phoenix and upcoming races: “The schedule makes us prepare for Phoenix a little bit earlier. It’s a Friday, Saturday, Sunday race with practice starting on Friday and qualifying on Saturday. The truck leaves for Phoenix that week, I believe on Tuesday. Your week is short so you have to be prepared on the front side, which we will be. We still have to go have a good run in Kansas and definitely want to have a good run in Martinsville. We have had that one circled for a while because we, as a team, feel like we have something to prove. Hopefully we can do that. We will be focused on Phoenix, but we want to have some good races in the meantime.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
