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.
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.”
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