RECAPPING MICHIGAN: Kyle Larson scored his series-best 10th top-five finish of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season at Michigan International Speedway. The result came over two days of racing at the 2-mile track. Wet weather stopped the race after 74 laps on Sunday and the event was completed on Monday afternoon. Larson earned his fourth straight finish inside the top seven at the Irish Hills and the result moved him up to sixth in the points standings.
ON THIS DATE: This Sunday, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the premier series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. The 2021 Cup Series champion holds the best finish of all Hendrick Motorsports drivers at the Indianapolis Road Course with a third-place result in 2021. He also won the last Cup race held on Aug. 13th, at Michigan (in 2017).
ROAD READY: Larson has four road course wins in the Cup Series: Sonoma Raceway (2021), the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL (2021) and Watkins Glen International (2021 and 2022). These victories place him in a tie for the third-most road course wins among active drivers. He is also the third-highest contributing driver to road course victories at Hendrick Motorsports, behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (nine) and teammate Chase Elliott (seven). Larson has earned the third-most stage wins (five) all-time on road courses. This year, the driver of the No. 5 has earned the third-most points (102) on road courses and is tied for sixth-most fastest laps run during green flag circuits (10) on tracks with left and right turns. Larson is also in a four-way tie for third-most consecutive top-10 finishes on road courses (two), with Elliott.
REGULAR SEASON ROLLS ON: With three races remaining in the 2023 regular season, Larson has earned a spot in the playoffs for the third season in a row. The 31-year-old driver has won two points-paying races (Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway) and the non-points paying All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. He has claimed a series-leading 10 top-five finishes as well as capturing 11 top-10 finishes and three stage wins. In addition, the Elk Grove, California, native has the second-best average starting position (10.09), led the third-most laps (624), run the fourth-most laps in the top five (2,117), run the fourth-most laps in the top 10 (3,366) and has the fifth-best average running position (12.29).
ON COURSE WITH CLIFF DANIELS: Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, has guided Larson to four wins on road courses. Daniels trails only fellow Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Alan Gustafson (seven wins) of the No. 9 for victories on serpentine layouts among active team pit bosses.
INDYCAR UNVEIL: On Sunday at Indianapolis, HendrickCars.com and IndyCar team Arrow McLaren plan to unveil their scheme for Larson’s 2024 run in the Indianapolis 500. The unveil, which will take place in the plaza before the Cup Series race, is the first look at the No. 17 ride for his IndyCar debut. Larson will run the "double," competing in 1,100 miles of racing over approximately 12 hours between Charlotte Motor Speedway and Indianapolis on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
STREAM AND SHOP: Not at Indianapolis this weekend for the HendrickCars.com No. 17 reveal? No problem. You can live stream the event virtually by tuning in to HendrickCars.com. Follow HendrickCars.com on social media for timing and additional details to be posted later this week. While you’re there, you can browse over 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available by selecting the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to your lifestyle.
EXTRACURRICULAR: In addition to his full-time Cup Series schedule, Larson often races on dirt during the week. This week, he is scheduled to compete in the 62nd Knoxville Nationals competition at Knoxville Raceway, the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.” On Thursday, he will attempt to qualify for the main event, which takes place on Saturday. You can catch the action on MAVTV.com.
HENDRICK AUTOMOTIVE GROUP IS HIRING: Join 10,000+ others nationwide in working at Hendrick Automotive Group. The company is hiring technicians and other positions at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Individuals who are interested can apply at HendrickCars.com.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on having his IndyCar ride revealed this weekend: "I’m excited for everyone to see the IndyCar. As far as feelings for running the (Indy) 500, it’s still far out. I’ve really just been trying to focus on the racing I’m doing right now. I’m sure once I get to the offseason and get bored, I’ll be thinking about it more. That’s when I’ll get really excited and probably nervous about it all at the same time. I’m thankful to HendrickCars.com for their support to the No. 5 team in the (NASCAR) Cup Series and for allowing me the chance to run the double next year as well with Arrow McLaren."
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on a busy weekend for Larson: "We really enjoy going to Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway). With just the history of the track, obviously, it’s just an amazing place. I have a ton of respect for the track, so we always try to just be really thoughtful with what our approach is going there. There is certainly a lot of excitement with the IndyCar unveil for Kyle (Larson), which is great. It’s also the Knoxville Nationals weekend, so he will be commuting back and forth and he’ll be excited about Knoxville, which is a lot of fun. On the Cup (Series) side, we’ve got to be really focused on executing a good race. We’ve been making our road course cars better this year. Hopefully, we take another step of progress in that direction, put a good car out there and execute a good race for him. It’s an exciting weekend and a lot to look forward to."
No comments:
Post a Comment