Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Homestead-Miami Speedway media center on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 8 a.m. local time.
VICTORIOUS IN VEGAS: For the second time in three years, Kyle Larson won the opening race in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs to secure a berth in the Championship 4. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 swept the stages at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and led a race-high 133 laps. Off the final turn, Larson held on to defend the lead, earning his second career Championship 4 appearance and his fourth points-paying win of the 2023 Cup Series season.
CHAMPIONSHIP 4 BOUND: In 2021, Larson won the Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway. The No. 5 HendrickCars.com team will now return to the Arizona track in November as a contender for their second title. The 31-year-old driver has won at all three of the remaining tracks in the playoffs: Homestead-Miami Speedway (2022), Martinsville Speedway (2023) and Phoenix (2021). Since 2021, Larson has the most playoff wins (eight) and is ahead in that category by five victories. Throughout the 2023 playoffs, Larson leads the field in average running position (6.81) and laps run in the top five (1,292).
1.5-MILE MOJO: Mile-and-a-half tracks have historically been a strong point for Larson. In the 2023 season, Larson has earned the second most points (224) on that track length, trailing only Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron (254). Of the last seven races on 1.5-mile tracks, Larson and Byron are the only repeat winners with two victories each. Since joining the 14-time championship-winning organization in 2021, Larson has six wins on 1.5-mile tracks.
MIAMI MEMORIES: The Elk Grove, California, native dominated last year’s race at Homestead-Miami to earn a spot for the No. 5 team in the Championship 4 of the owner playoffs. In that event, he swept the stages, had an average running position of 1.40 and led 199 laps en route his first Cup Series victory at the South Florida track.
FAST FORWARDING TO FLORIDA: After locking himself into the Championship 4 via a win at Las Vegas, Larson and the No. 5 team head to Miami with the objective of maintaining momentum. Homestead-Miami has long been one of Larson's best tracks. In nine starts at "The Sunshine State" venue, he has earned a win, five top-five finishes and an average finish of 10.67. He is two-for-two in top-five finishes at the track with Hendrick Motorsports. In addition, Larson’s five stage wins and 529 laps led are the most among drivers entered in Sunday's 267-lap race. His ability to find the razor's edge of speed against the outside wall is a skill few drivers have mastered.
IN 2023: This season, Larson leads the series in laps led (1,031) and top-five finishes (14). He is in a three-way tie for the fifth-most top-10 finishes (16). The driver of the No. 5 ranks third in the following statistical categories: average running position (11.09), laps run in the top five (3,476) and laps run in the top 10 (5,079). He also ranks second-best on restarts, based on data from Racing Insights.
FIVE FAST GUYS: After 33 races this season, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com pit crew has the second-fastest average four-tire pit stop time of 11.083 seconds. This past weekend in Vegas with only 55 laps remaining in the race, the No. 5 crew executed a money stop in 9.543 seconds that gained Larson two positions on pit road and sent him to the lead before he claimed victory. 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).
INDYCAR INSIGHT: The 2021 Cup Series champion had a busy last week as he prepares for the 2024 Indianapolis 500. He went to the Arrow McLaren shop for his seat fitting on Tuesday, Oct. 10, before taking part in rookie orientation at the famed track on Thursday, Oct. 12. Larson reached a top speed of 217.898 mph and passed orientation with flying colors. Take a behind-the-scenes look at his experience as he prepared for the #Hendrick1100 in his HendrickCars.com entry.
WIN A CHEVROLET COLORADO Z71: Want to drive Larson’s 2023 Chevrolet Colorado truck? One lucky winner will win his ride. Fans can donate now to enter a drawing for a chance to take home the Z71 Crew Cab 4WD package with custom features and styling. This special sweepstakes raises funding for the Kyle Larson Foundation’s "DRIVE FOR 5" campaign that supports youth, families and communities in need. The campaign is nearing its fundraising goal of $500,000. Click here to check out this sweet custom ride and enter to win today. The drawing closes on Sunday, Dec. 3, and the winner will be chosen on Monday, Dec. 11.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his mindset for the rest of the Round of 8 after earning a spot in the Championship 4 with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: "It’s nice to be locked in (to the Championship 4). The points are really close. It’s nice to not have to worry about points and go there and race our own race. I aim to race up front and try to make good decisions on the racetrack. Knowing that I’m locked in, I’m not going into these next two races thinking that they are throwaways. I want to go there (Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway), have some good runs, potentially have a couple more wins and roll into Phoenix (Raceway) with a lot of confidence and momentum to go after a second championship."
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team's areas of focus for the remainder of the Round of 8: "We are certainly glad to have the momentum (from Las Vegas Motor Speedway) but being realistic we know that there is still an uphill battle ahead of us. There are still two more races we need to go run well at and make sure we are doing everything right including our processes and everything about how we execute our days while getting ready for Phoenix (Raceway). That’s kind of our focus and we need to make sure that we do all the right things right at Homestead (Miami Speedway) to execute a good race. Same thing at Martinsville (Speedway). The momentum is nice to have, but we are going to keep our blinders on and stay as grounded as we can while continuing to push forward."
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