Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Caesars has Kyle Larson +250 favorite to win at Fontana

 

 
 

5 KYLE LARSON

 

Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)

 

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

 

Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

 

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels

 

Standings: 26th

 
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No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

 

I SECOND THAT: On March 26, 2017, at Auto Club Speedway, Kyle Larson started first and led 110 of 202 laps en route to his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory. In a Chip Ganassi Racing entry, the 2014 rookie of the year led the final six circuits around the 2-mile track in Fontana, California.

2-MILERS: Michigan International Speedway and Auto Club Speedway are the only active 2-mile circuits on the Cup Series schedule. Larson holds a 12.75 average finishing position on the two tracks, which ranks third among active drivers. He trails only Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott (8.25) and Joey Logano (12.72) in that statistical category.

DAYTONA 475: Larson, who won the pole award for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, led the field to the green flag in “The Great American Race” at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Larson was in position to battle for the win before his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 was collected in a multi-car accident with 10 laps to go in the race scheduled for 500 miles. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion finished 32nd and is now 26th in the driver standings after one event.

TWO STRAIGHT: Dating back to the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Larson has won two consecutive pole positions. If the Elk Grove, California, native wins the pole for this weekend’s race, it will mark the first time a driver has won three straight since Kyle Busch did it in 2017. The last Hendrick Motorsports driver to accomplish the feat was Jeff Gordon in 2007.

TOPS SINCE THEN: The last time NASCAR’s premier series raced at Fontana was March 1, 2020. That event marked seven-time Cup Series champion and all-time ACS wins leader (six) Jimmie Johnson’s final start at the West Coast track. Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman led 110 laps that day to capture the victory. Since then, Larson has paced the field 2,584 times in Cup Series competition, the most of any driver. The 29-year-old driver has done so while competing in only 38 of the 70 races held during that span.

CAREER YEAR: In 2021, Larson led the Cup Series in wins (10), top-five finishes (20), top-10s (26), stage wins (18), laps led (2,581) and average start (6.1) – all career-bests. His laps led in 2021 were more than the combined total of the second- and third-place drivers in that statistical category.

QUICK TIME: At 11.501 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew had the quickest four-tire pit stop in the 2022 DAYTONA 500. 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). Their final performance of 2021 – a 12.345-second four-tire stop at Phoenix Raceway – moved Larson from fourth to first for the final restart and propelled the 29-year-old driver to his first Cup Series championship.

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.

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