5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 30 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 10th
No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
FRONT OF THE FIELD: Through 11 races in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, Larson is one of three drivers, along with Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, with two wins this season. The Elk Grove, California, native ranks second in both laps led (468), laps run in the top five (1,217) and is tied for second with Byron and two others in top-five finishes (four). He has also run the third-most laps in the top 10 (1,842).
COMING TO KANSAS: In the last four races at Kansas Speedway, which hosts Sunday’s race, Larson has led the most laps (291). That mark is 171 circuits better than the next closest competitor. In 16 starts at the Midwest venue, he has one win (October 2021), five top-five finishes and eight top-10s. His 455 laps led are his fifth-most at any one track in the series. On top of that, he is one of seven drivers (along with teammate Alex Bowman) to score top-10 finishes in both 2022 Kansas races.
1.5-MILE MUSCLE: Since coming to Hendrick Motorsports for the start of the 2021 season, Larson has been extremely strong on traditional 1.5-mile tracks. In the 17 starts he’s made for the No. 5 team on that track type, he has the most wins (five), runner-up finishes (four), top-10 finishes (14), stage wins (13), laps led (1,705) and has the best average finish (7.35). Over that span of time, he is also tied for the most top-five finishes (10) on 1.5-mile tracks. Larson’s 1,705 laps led represent 34% of the laps run on 1.5-mile tracks since 2021. In addition, he has earned the second-most points (314) on 1.5-mile tracks since the start of the 2022 season.
SETTING THE STAGE: Larson’s 44 stage wins are the third-highest total all-time. With two stage wins so far in 2023, he is tied for the third-most. The 30-year-old driver has earned 85 stage points this season, which is also the third-highest mark.
PIT CREW POWER: The HendrickCars.com pit crew is ranked the fifth-best overall on pit road based on their average four-tire stop time through 11 races at 11.462 seconds. The squad’s pit stop on lap 293 at Martinsville Speedway, which was a race Larson went on to win, ranks as the sixth-fastest four-tire stop on the season at 9.677 seconds. The five-man pit crew consists of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer).
DOWN IN THE DIRT: Larson will be featured in a new five-part documentary series announced this week by FOX Sports Films, titled DIRT: THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN SPORT. The series, debuting on Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, chronicles legendary dirt competitors racing on dirt tracks across America.
EXTRACURRICULARS: In accompany to Larson’s full-time Cup Series schedule, he races late models and sprint cars most weeks and HendrickCars.com is one of his sponsors for his non-NASCAR racing schedule. This week, he is scheduled to race in Ohio on Thursday (at Atomic Speedway) and Friday (at Eldora Speedway).
HOME RACE HATS: This weekend’s race at Kansas will mark the fifth home race of the season for the HendrickCars.com team. For every HendrickCars.com home race this season (15 total), there will be a unique hat that is released the week of the race. These hats will only available for sale on the trackside merchandise haulers or available to win on HendrickCars.com. Less than 100 of each limited-edition hat will be made available to the public. This week’s Kansas-themed hat will be released Thursday and can be found here.
HENDRICKCARS.COM IS HOME: The Kansas City, Kansas, automotive market is home to five Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships. Not in Kansas? You can pick from any one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 95 dealerships nationwide. Customers can also shop from the convenience of their home selecting 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.
CLOSING IN ON 300: Hendrick Motorsports is five points-paying victories away from 300 in the NASCAR Cup Series. Twenty drivers have combined to reach the organization’s current total of 295 wins, which is the most in the sport by any one team. With four wins this season, Hendrick Motorsports has posted its 36th multi-win season in the Cup Series. In each of the last 30 seasons, the organization has won at least two races.
HONORING UYRS’ 25TH ANNIVERSARY: Hendrick Motorsports and team owner Rick Hendrick have been long-time supporters of the Urban Youth Racing School (UYRS). In honor of the Philadelphia-based program’s 25th anniversary, the Hendrick Family Foundation recently donated $25,000 to the UYRS. Kyle Larson presented the check on the foundation’s behalf on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He also met with a group of 18 students and nine chaperones from the organization. In 2023, the UYRS will once again host the Grand Prix of Philadelphia with Kyle Larson and Friends event ahead of NASCAR’s race weekend at Pocono Raceway. Details around the event will be announced at a later date.
KINGS OF KANSAS: With eight wins, the team has the most victories among all Cup Series organizations at Kansas Speedway. Jeff Gordon won the first race at the track in 2001 and earned three in total at this track. Jimmie Johnson also posted three wins at the Kansas City, Kansas, venue. Chase Elliott and Larson each have one triumph as well. The team’s 1,870 laps out front at the facility are also the best among all teams in the series.
SPRING REVIEW: In last year’s spring event at Kansas, Larson nearly won his second consecutive race at the 1.5-mile track. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 led with 10 laps to go before being caught by the eventual race winner and settling for a second-place finish. Alex Bowman earned a top-10 finish with a ninth-place result. Larson and Bowman were two of the seven drivers in the series to earn top 10s in both Kansas races in 2022.
HEY HEY HEY: Each of Hendrick Motorsports’ four full-time drivers are in the top eight for laps led in the past four races at the Kansas City, Kansas venue. Larson’s mark of 291 laps in the best in the series over that time, while Bowman (107) ranks third, William Byron (91) is fourth and Elliott (52) has the eighth-most.
MILE-AND-A-HALF MOJO: Since the start of the 2021 season, the numbers show that races at mile-and-a-half tracks are Hendrick Motorsports vs. the field. The 14-time Cup Series champions have eight wins in that span vs. the field’s nine. However, the organization has more laps led (2,639 to 2,375) and stage wins (20 to 16) in that span than all the other teams in the series. In the only race on a 1.5-mile track this season to date (at Las Vegas Motor Speedway), the team swept the top-three spots in the finishing order.
NEXT GEN NUMBERS: In the Next Gen era (start of the 2022 season), Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at traditional 1.5-mile tracks with three. Bowman won at Las Vegas in March 2022, Larson triumphed at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October 2022 and Byron took the victory at Las Vegas in March 2023. Both Larson and Byron swept the stages in their wins as well.
OUT IN FRONT: With 1,126 laps led, Hendrick Motorsports has the most laps out front this season. Byron (579) and Larson (468) rank one-two in that statistical category. The team’s total is more than double the total of the team that ranks second (477). The 1,126 circuits in front are the fifth-most ever for the organization through 11 races. Each of the years with higher occurrences: 1995 (1,497 laps led), 1996 (1,464 laps led), 2007 (1,291 laps led) and 2010 (1,173 laps led) were championship seasons for the Concord, North Carolina, based squad.
STAGE SAVANTS: In the 2023 season, Hendrick Motorsports’ series-best nine stage wins are two more than the combined total of the teams ranked second and third in this statistic. The team’s stage wins have come among three of its drivers. Byron leads all drivers with six, while Larson has two and Elliott has one. In the stage racing era, this is the second-most stage wins for the organization through 11 races. Their high to this point in a season is 11 stage wins, which came in 2020.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Kansas Speedway: “I always enjoy visiting Kansas Speedway to race. I’ve had some good fortune there and hope to have some again. The No. 5 team has brought fast race cars to the track almost every weekend this season and I know this weekend won’t be any different. (I’m) hoping we can turn our luck around in Kansas.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on preparing for Kansas: “Kansas (Speedway) has been a good track for us. We enjoy going there and for whatever reason we’ve been able to have some good runs over the past couple of years together. It’s a tough place, but it’s one that we enjoy and Kyle (Larson) has a good knack for. (We) are certainly going to do our homework and try to put our best foot forward for this weekend.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
