Motorsport TechnologyThe Hendrick Motorsports team, partnered by Acronis, made it two wins from as many races as Kyle Larson grabbed his debut win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Last weekend it had been William Byron who was setting the records in becoming the youngest winner at Homestead Miami Speedway and this time Larson was creating history of his own by becoming the fastest driver in team history to secure his first win after just four attempts.
Victory was certainly on the cards for a track Larson enjoys, previously boasting two runner-up finishes in Las Vegas out of nine total second-place results at 1.5-mile tracks.
After a big win @LVMotorSpeedway, hear from your race winner and https://t.co/c8UD8QZ9FE driver, @KyleLarsonRacin! pic.twitter.com/bvW2DEfKyx
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 8, 2021
“It was such an awesome race car,” Larson is quoted on the Hendrick Motorsports website. “Cliff and everybody did a great job preparing this piece. It was so much fun to drive. I could go wherever I wanted to. I knew we had a really good car once we would kind of get single-filed out; but just drafting early in the run was tough.
“But thank you so much Mr. (Rick) Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for the amazing opportunity I’ve been gifted.”
Larson had started the race in third position and was up to second by lap 22 and retained that position when the first competition caution was waved. Restarting as the lead car, he dropped back to third but regained the lead on the 45th lap and held position through the second caution before eventually finishing 12th after the first stage.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Did you know that Hendrick Motorsports has now won five of the last nine races dating back to last season? pic.twitter.com/N6GTO7Cnnc
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 8, 2021
Stage 2 was all Larson, carving his way to sixth after pitting under green flags before taking the lead with under ten laps remaining and holding on for the stage win. Confidence now soaring, Larsson started stage 3 as the leader, and although he restarted 11th after pitting under the sixth caution flag, he charged through the field and regained the lead on lap 237 and never surrendered it until the chequered flag.
Rounding out an excellent day for Hendrick Motorsports, last week’s winner Williams Byron came home in 8th place, a place ahead of teammate Chase Elliot.
A memorable win, a fast Chevy and a very special scheme. 👊@KyleLarsonRacin | @HendrickAuto
pic.twitter.com/WbSCAOIFnN— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 8, 2021
Relive @KyleLarsonRacin’s race-winning moment @LVMotorSpeedway! ✊https://t.co/c8UD8QZ9FE | @HendrickAuto
pic.twitter.com/NDbaiyfGBM— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 8, 2021
