NASCAR: Larson wins South Point 400 at Las Vegas (Update)

UPDATE: The Team Penske No. 12 Ford Mustang of Ryan Blaney that finished 6th has been disqualified because the left-front shock didn’t meet the overall specified length outlined in NASCAR Rule Book number 14.11.3.5.

This is going to be a massive hit to Blaney’s Championship 4 hopes.

Already, Blaney entered the Round of 8 in last. Now he’s completely had Las Vegas wiped from his point total.

He is instead credited with a finish of 36th and is shown as scoring just one point, effectively a penalty of 38 points. He initially left the race just 17 points behind the all-important Championship Four cutoff line, but he now falls 55 points behind the cutoff line with two races remaining.

All other cars cleared post-race inspection.

Kyle Larson won both stages and the race to take maximum points and advance to the Championship Round of 4 in the NASCAR Cup South Point 400 at Las Vegas.

Larson nursed the tires on his #5 Hendrick Chevy to perfection and just held off a charging #20 Christopher Bell’s JGR Toyota by 0.082s.

Larson made a great save earlier in the race as he got sideways further than any driver this year and saved it.

“Just a great race car. I almost gave it away there in [Turns] 1 and 2, getting sideways and getting into the wall and had to fight back from there with our balance,” Larson said to NBC Sports following the race. “They got it much closer there to lead. I was happy to pull away as much as we did and was hoping that was going to be enough, you know, to maintain, which it was, but I thought they weren’t going to be able to get as close as they did there at the end, so nerve-wracking.”

“I mean, I don’t know what else I could have done, so I don’t know. I feel like that was my moment,” Bell said to NBC Sports following the race. “That was my moment to make the final four. Didn’t quite capture it. I don’t know. Coming to the checkered there, I knew that he [Larson] was going to be blocking, so I’m like, I’m going to try to go high. He went high. I don’t even know if I had a run to get by him there coming to the line. Just wasn’t enough. A great day, great day for sure, to get the stage points, get a second-place finish out of it. I think I saw we’re minus two, so we’re not out of it by any means. It would have been nice to lock it in.”

Larson led a race high 133 laps and is guaranteed a spot in the Round of 4 three races from now.

“What a job done by my team,” said Larson. “Just a great race car. I almost gave it away there in one and two; getting sideways, hitting the wall. Had to fight back there with our balance. They got it much closer there in the lead.”

The 31-year-old California native took the green-flag at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval from a front-row starting position after posting a runner-up qualifying result in his Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet. Larson took the lead on lap three, but struggled with loose-handling conditions in his Camaro ZL1 during the opening stage. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels quickly went to work on a plan for adjustments, and as the first round of green-flag pit stops cycled through, Larson regained the lead en route to the Stage One win.

Utilizing the stage break for another round of adjustments to help improve the handling of his car, Larson lined up in the seventh position for the start of Stage Two, but quickly found his way back into the top-five less than 15 laps into the stage. Nearing the halfway point of the stage, Larson was running steady in the second position and making ground on then-race leader Brad Keselowski when he made contact with the wall. Losing just a handful of positions, pit strategy from atop the No. 5 pit box called for a four-tire stop while the leaders opted for two in the closing laps of the stage. Fresh rubber gave Larson the opportunity to make quick work up the leaderboard – reclaiming the lead with 11 laps to go to sweep the stage wins.

Lining up in the third position for the start of the final stage, Larson settled into position until a caution came out on lap 210. Executing yet another fast stop, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 pit crew gained Larson two positions on pit road to put the team back in command with 52 laps to go in the race. Continuing to pace the field, playoff contender Christopher Bell made a late-race charge for the lead. Despite closing the gap in the remaining few laps, Larson was able to edge out Bell at the line to take the win by just a 0.082-second margin to deliver Chevrolet its 17th win in NASCAR’s premier series this season – a win record more than its manufacturer competitors combined.

“Thanks to Chevrolet, HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, everybody involved in this deal,” continued Larson. “This is really cool to get to race in the championship in a few weeks. Glad we don’t need to stress in the last two races.”

Kyle Busch came home third, 4.5s behind, but he is not in the Playoffs.

Brad Keselowski who led 38 laps earlier, was 4th while Ross Chastain rounded out the top-5, 5.4s behind.

The win in the Round of Eight opening race marked Larson’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series win of the season, and his 23rd career win in 328 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

Hendrick Motorsports swept the NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this season, with Larson’s victory extending the Chevrolet organization’s win record to nine trips to victory lane at the track.

The victory marks Larson’s second time taking the win in the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight – last accomplished in his championship season (2021).

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 – Race Winner

Kyle, it was a flawless, no-mistake day for the 5 team. A heck of a battle with Christopher Bell at the end of the race. Did the 20 surprise you there? Did you know he was coming that quickly?

“I could see him coming in my mirror, for sure. Was hoping those lappers were going to give me the bottom. The 38 peeled off to the bottom. I knew I couldn’t follow him. I just didn’t want to go all the way to the top, leave the middle open.

“Thankfully, Christopher (Bell) always races extremely clean. Could have got crazier than it did coming to the start/finish line. Thank you to him for racing with respect there.

“What a job done by my team, too. Just a great race car. I almost gave it away there in one and two, getting sideways, hitting into the wall. Had to fight back there with our balance. They got it much closer there in the lead.

“I was happy to pull away as much as we did. Was hoping that was going to be enough to maintain, which it was. I thought they weren’t going to be able to get as close as they did there at the end. Nerve-wracking.

“Thanks to Chevrolet, HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, everybody involved in this deal. This is really cool to get to race in the championship in a few weeks. Glad we don’t need to stress in the last two races.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing  Finishing Position: 2nd

Do you rethink anything in those last laps?

“I mean, I don’t know what else I could have done, so I don’t know. I feel like that was my moment. That was my moment to make the Final Four. Didn’t quite capture it. I don’t know. Coming to the checkered there, I knew that he was going to be blocking, so I’m like, I’m going to try to go high. He went high. I don’t even know if I had a run to get by him there coming to the line. Just wasn’t enough. A great day, great day for sure to get the stage points, get a second-place finish out of it. I think I saw we’re minus two, so we’re not out of it by any means. It would have been nice to lock it in.”

Race Results

POS	CAR	DRIVER	MANUF	BEHIND	LAPS
1	5	Kyle Larson (P)		—	267
2	20	Christopher Bell (P)		0.082	267
3	8	Kyle Busch		4.504	267
4	6	Brad Keselowski		4.650	267
5	1	Ross Chastain		5.457	267
6	12	Ryan Blaney (P)		5.837	267
7	24	William Byron (P)		7.607	267
8	45	Tyler Reddick (P)		8.549	267
9	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		9.056	267
10	11	Denny Hamlin (P)		9.709	267
11	17	Chris Buescher (P)		13.338	267
12	22	Joey Logano		13.881	267
13	23	Bubba Wallace		14.132	267
14	10	Aric Almirola		16.634	267
15	99	Daniel Suarez		16.792	267
16	4	Kevin Harvick		20.268	267
17	34	Michael McDowell		22.611	267
18	3	Austin Dillon		22.678	267
19	7	Corey LaJoie		23.072	267
20	21	Harrison Burton		24.251	267
21	16	AJ Allmendinger		24.704	267
22	31	Justin Haley		24.819	267
23	2	Austin Cindric		26.614	267
24	77	Ty Dillon		27.366	267
25	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		28.566	267
26	41	Ryan Preece		30.835	267
27	38	Todd Gilliland		-1	266
28	43	Erik Jones		-1	266
29	51	JJ Yeley(i)		-1	266
30	15	Brennan Poole(i)		-1	266
31	78	BJ McLeod(i)		-1	266
32	9	Chase Elliott (P)		-1	266
33	14	Chase Briscoe		-4	263
34	54	Ty Gibbs #		-8	259
35	48	Alex Bowman		-123	144
36	42	Carson Hocevar(i)		-157	110

# DENOTES ROOKIE
(i) NOT ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
(*) REQUIRED TO QUALIFY ON TIME