NECK-N-NECK IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: With three second-place finishes at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson has the most runner-up results at the track of any NASCAR Cup Series driver all-time without a win there. He is tied for the fourth-most stage points earned (19) at the 1.058-mile track in the last two premier series races. In 12 Cup Series starts on "The Magic Mile," he has completed 98.9% of his laps attempted, led 16 laps and scored four top-five finishes. The 30-year-old driver’s average finish of 12.5 at the Loudon, New Hampshire, track is sixth-best among drivers in Sunday’s field.
LEADING LAPS: Larson is second in laps led this season (592), adding four circuits to that tally at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He trails only teammate William Byron (741) in this statistical category. The driver of the No. 5 has led 103 more laps than the third-place competitor. He ranks fourth in both laps run in the top five (1,821) and laps run in the top 10 (2,973).
TALLYING TOP FIVES: Larson is tied with Byron for the most top-five finishes in points-paying Cup Series races in 2023 (eight). Counting his win in the non-points All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the Elk Grove, California, native, has finished in the top five at nine different tracks: second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fourth at Phoenix Raceway, first at Richmond Raceway, first at Martinsville Speedway, second at Kansas Speedway, fourth at WWT Raceway, fifth at Nashville Superspeedway and fourth at the Chicago Street Course. In addition, he is in a three-way tie for the fifth-most top-10 finishes (nine).
MILE-RANGE MUSCLE: Sunday’s race at New Hampshire marks Larson’s 62nd start on tracks 1- to 1.37-miles in length (Darlington Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville, New Hampshire, Phoenix and WWTR). In his previous 61 starts at tracks in that length range, he has collected three pole awards, three wins, 27 top-five finishes, 39 top-10s and 2,281 laps led. This season, he won the pole and led 201 laps at Phoenix and also contended late for the win at Darlington and WWTR.
PIT CREW POWER: Through 19 races this season, the No. 5 pit crew ranks second overall in average four-tire pit stop time at 11.079 seconds. The team’s 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).
EXTRACURRICULAR: In accompany to Larson’s full-time Cup Series schedule, the HendrickCars.com driver is running in several sprint car events. On Tuesday at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, he won the feature race to become the first driver to win back-to-back at the Brad Doty Classic. Larson will also race in two events at Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio. The first will see him race for the chance to win over $1,000,000 in Thursday's Eldora Million. He will then compete in the prestigious Kings Royal (on Friday and Saturday), where a 40th King will be crowned in the $175K-to-win race. Catch the action on DIRTVision.com.
VALVOLINE ON BOARD: This weekend at New Hampshire, Valvoline will make their second appearance of 2023 as the primary sponsor of Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume. Off the track, Valvoline is the preferred lubricant of Hendrick Automotive Group, which operates 95 car dealerships across the United States. Check out Larson’s No. 5 Valvoline Chevy here.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: "I like New Hampshire (Motor Speedway) a lot. It’s different than the other tracks we go to. It’s really flat. Kind of like a bigger short track in a way. It’s really rough into turn three and it’s difficult. You have to be really patient with yourself and your car. It’s easy to get frustrated there if you’re not turning into the middle well, you’re loose in or your car is bouncing too much. It’s always hard to get the right feel there and I enjoy that challenge."
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on building on the team's 2023 short-track success: "New Hampshire (Motor Speedway) is a tough track. We, as Hendrick Motorsports, have a little bit of a tough recent history there. I feel like our cars kind of get trapped in the sixth-to-10th (position) range. Obviously, our expectations are a lot higher than that. We are getting to work in all the areas that we can to try and better ourselves and level up our game. Our short-track package has been strong this year, obviously, with our wins coming on short tracks this year. That certainly doesn’t mean we can rest. We need to be sharp about what we need to do to execute for a good weekend. It starts with running good in practice and hopefully getting a good spot in qualifying, which leads to the pit pick that can really set you up for success. The race always seems to have some sort of asterisk in it for a mix up in strategy, an untimely caution, or whatever it may be. So, we just need to be on our toes and make good decisions throughout the day."
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