5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 8th
No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway media center on Saturday, March 5, at 9:15 a.m. local time.
LARSON HIT ON 16: On Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, Kyle Larson led 28 laps en route to his first victory of 2022 and the 17th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is now tied with Marvin Panch and Curtis Turner for 52nd on the all-time Cup Series wins list. With his next visit to victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series, Larson could break into the top 50 in that statistical category.
WINNER WINNER: Dating back to last season, Larson has won five of the past seven points-paying Cup Series races. In the modern era (1972-present), the feat has been accomplished nine other times by eight drivers – all members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame: former Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty (twice), Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, and David Pearson.
WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS: In March 2021 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson led a race-high 103 laps to capture his first victory driving for Hendrick Motorsports and his first career Cup Series win on a 1.5-mile track. Prior to the win, he had scored nine runner-up finishes – the most all-time without a victory – in 71 career Cup starts on 1.5-mile tracks.
GOOD ODDS: Including his victory at Las Vegas last year, Larson won four of the final eight races held on 1.5-mile tracks for a winning percentage of 50%. In the nine total races held on 1.5-mile tracks last season, the 29-year-old driver led 1,317 laps – the most all-time on that track configuration. In fact, the rest of the field combined to lead 1,337 – only 20 more laps than Larson.
FUN IN THE SUN: Larson has won four of the last six Cup Series races held on the West Coast. Along with his victory at Las Vegas, the Elk Grove, California, native won at Sonoma Raceway and Phoenix Raceway in 2021 plus last weekend at Auto Club Speedway.
LAS VEGAS EDGE: Only three drivers with more than three starts at Las Vegas have an average finish better than 10th. Larson’s average finish of 9.82 there trails only Joey Logano (8.59) and Ryan Blaney (8.82). Larson’s average finish at Las Vegas also ranks third among tracks where the 2014 rookie of the year has made more than one start. In eight appearances at Darlington Raceway, Larson has a 5.5 average finish while he has a 7.0 average result in 13 starts at Dover Motor Speedway.
YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. 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.
OVER $200K: In March, Larson launched 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 completed in 2021 and contributed another $5,000 for every top-five finish he earned. After 36 races, he pledged more than $140,000 and raised more than $200,000. To learn more, please visit KyleLarsonFoundation.org.
RACING FOR UKRAINE: In addition to competing for a win in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports will race in support of Ukraine. To help bring awareness to the growing humanitarian crisis and to encourage relief donations, team owner Rick Hendrick and sponsor Hendrick Automotive Group have committed $200,000 to Samaritan’s Purse to support disaster assistance. The Hendrick organization will also contribute $2,000 toward Ukraine relief for each lap led by the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable at Las Vegas, where the team led a combined 150 laps last March. This weekend, the Samaritan’s Purse website, SamaritansPurse.org, will appear prominently on the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of defending race winner and 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. Donations that directly support relief efforts in Ukraine can be made via the site.
75,000 LAPS LED: Since it was founded 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has led exactly 75,000 laps in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races. It reached the milestone Sunday after leading 52 laps at Auto Club Speedway to extend its all-time record. The team has led 98,574.473 miles in the series, which is equal to nearly four full trips around the Earth.
LAPPING THE FIELD: In 2021, Hendrick Motorsports set a new record for laps led on 1.5-mile tracks in a single season with a combined 1,693. The previous record of 1,515 was set in 2005 by RFK Racing. Including six at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has 65 victories on 1.5-mile tracks, which is 10 more than second-best Joe Gibbs Racing and 24 more than third-best RFK Racing.
KEPT IT GOING: Following Larson’s victory Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has won at least one Cup Series race in a record-extending 38 different seasons. With the exception of only 1985, the team has delivered a victory each year since Rick Hendrick opened the doors in 1984. Petty Enterprises is second all-time with 36 years with a victory.
THE BIG FOUR-OH: On Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports notched its 12th victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and its 40th combined NASCAR Cup Series win on the West Coast. It has also won 12 times at Phoenix Raceway, seven times at Sonoma Raceway and three times at the defunct Riverside International. The team will seek its seventh Las Vegas Motor Speedway victory this weekend.
BACK FOR MORE: Entering the 2022 NASCAR season, Hendrick Motorsports will seek to defend as Cup Series champions and extend its current streak of consecutive titles to three. Chase Elliott won the coveted Bill France Cup in 2020, followed by teammate Larson in 2021. Hendrick Motorsports has earned 14 NASCAR Cup titles – the most in history – and holds series records in every major statistical category, including wins, pole positions and laps led.
BANNER YEAR: The 2021 season was one of the most memorable in the history of Hendrick Motorsports. In May, the team finished 1-2-3-4 at Dover Motor Speedway, won Chevrolet’s milestone 800th race at Circuit of The Americas and broke Petty Enterprises’ long-standing record for all-time Cup Series wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The organization recorded 17 points-paying victories, which rank as its second-most ever (18 in 2007). With its entire four-car stable contributing to the 2021 total, Hendrick Motorsports became the first team in Cup Series history with four race winners under the age of 30 in a single season. The year culminated with Larson’s victory at Phoenix Raceway, which clinched the organization’s record-extending 14th NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, on this weekend’s efforts to support Ukraine relief: “Like the rest of the world, our family has watched the worsening crisis in Ukraine with shock and sadness. We’ve been especially struck by the needless suffering inflicted on innocent children. NASCAR provides us with an incredibly powerful platform, and I believe we have a moral obligation to use it to help people in need. We hope to encourage others to support Ukraine, whether it be through Samaritan’s Purse or one of the other organizations providing critical humanitarian relief. We cannot ignore the disaster that is unfolding.”
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on last year’s Las Vegas win: “That win was really special for us. It was our first win as a team and meant a lot to a lot of people on this team – some visiting victory lane in the Cup Series for the first time. But I also know how much it meant to Rick and Linda (Hendrick) because the paint scheme was similar to what (their late son) Ricky (Hendrick) ran. It’s an honor to drive for them and to drive this car with this scheme that means so much to so many.”
Larson, on last Sunday’s win at Auto Club Speedway: “It’s always fun to win in your home state. I learned a lot on the track with this new Camaro ZL1 and I’m sure (crew chief) Cliff (Daniels) and the team did as well. But it’s a new car and we’re going to be constantly learning each and every race – and it will be no different this weekend at Vegas. Every lap we turn, we learn.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on if last year’s success at Las Vegas can translate to this weekend: “It’s a completely different car and tire, and the way the race plays out will probably be different. Las Vegas is real bumpy and it has a lot of character. The way you approach its uniqueness and the bumps – you have to have good ride in your car and the driver can’t get too upset by the bumps. The comfort and control and stability are things the entire field will be searching for, and we missed some of those qualities a little bit last weekend in California but still ended up with a great result.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
