This article was written by Jenna Fryer, a journalist covering auto racing for the Associated Press.

LAS VEGAS

After every victory in the NASCAR race, it is customary for Hendrick Motorsports employees to ring a bell in their North Carolina shop.

In order to boost Kyle Larson’s performance this year, his team has decided to carry a bell with them on the road. This way, they can celebrate his accomplishments immediately and do not have to wait until they return to Charlotte.

On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson claimed his second straight win, resulting in the first ringing of the bell. This victory for Chevrolet maintained their perfect record and earned Rick Hendrick his second triumph in the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of the year.

This season, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating 40 years since its establishment. To kick off the year, William Byron won the Daytona 500 race.

Larson stated that the bell will accompany us on a weekly basis and we will ring it confidently and emphatically.

Larson achieved his third career victory at Las Vegas, marking his first win while racing for Hendrick in 2021 after serving a suspension for almost a year in 2020. He previously won at Las Vegas last October during the playoffs in the No. 5 Chevrolet.

Larson managed to prevent Tyler Reddick from winning his 24th career Cup race. Although Reddick drove a Toyota for 23XI Racing and closely followed Larson for several laps, he ultimately could not find a way to overtake him. Larson’s winning margin was 0.441 seconds ahead of Reddick.

Larson expressed confidence in Tyler being the competitor to watch from the very beginning, noting his impressive speed in the first stage. He also mentioned his excitement in winning at Vegas once more, with back-to-back victories and sweeping all the stages once again. He stated that it couldn’t get any better than that.

Reddick’s disappointment was palpable as he took second place, convinced that Larson was able to lead the race due to NASCAR’s regulations for their latest vehicle.

Reddick commented on Kyle’s impressive performance, saying he effectively eliminated all the opportunities for me to catch up. Finishing in second place is disappointing because you have to lead the race for the entire day. We didn’t do what we needed to do to improve. We were evenly matched, so I don’t think there was anything I could have done to surpass him.

“He may have made a significant error or encountered unexpected traffic that slowed him down. Overall, our team put in a great effort and that’s the kind of race we should aim for, but I am not satisfied with coming in second place.”

Chevrolet has had successful victories this year, including wins from Byron at the Daytona 500 and Daniel Suarez for Trackhouse Racing at Atlanta last week. In fact, Chevrolet has won eight out of nine races in the national series so far this year.

This year, Ford and Toyota are both utilizing new vehicles.

According to Jeff Andrews, the president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, the Chevrolet team is currently united and working well together with various partner groups in order to stay competitive in the face of stiff competition from Ford and Toyota. They recognize the importance of collaboration and continual improvement in this tight race.

“At this point in the season, there is still a lot of racing ahead and the teams will definitely improve. Whenever significant changes are made to a car’s platform, it takes some time to adjust.”

Reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney was third for Team Penske in a Ford, followed by Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and Las Vegas native Noah Gragson was sixth in his best finish since joining Stewart-Haas Racing.

Martin Truex Jr. finished in seventh place for JGR, with his teammate Denny Hamlin following closely behind. Joey Logano, who started in pole position for Penske, came in fourth, while Byron took fifth place. Suarez, who won last week’s race, placed 11th.

Larson dominated all three segments and was in the lead for 181 out of the 267 laps. This victory also propelled Larson to the top of the Cup Series standings, with an eight-point advantage over Blaney.

BUESCHER PENALTY TO COME

Penalties are being imposed on Chris Buescher and RFK Racing due to a tire detaching from Buescher’s Ford during the early stages of the race.

According to Buescher, we misplaced the nut and half of the wheel was lost. It appears that the tire remained in place beneath the fender. It seems that the nut became detached and an element in the suspension caused the wheel to split in two.

Two crew members from Buescher’s team will be suspended for the next two races as a penalty.

FUL

The drive for diversity has been a success.

Larson’s victory extended a string of achievements for individuals who completed NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity initiative.

The events began with Nick Sanchez’s victory in the opening race of the Truck Series at Daytona, followed by Suarez’s win in the Cup Series race at Atlanta last week.

Rajah Caruth became the third Black driver in NASCAR’s national level to achieve victory by winning the Truck Series race at Las Vegas on Friday night. Similarly, Larson, who is of Japanese heritage, secured a win in the Cup race.

“The D4D program was beneficial for my professional growth. It served as my initial entry into stock car racing and allowed me to gain valuable experience both on and off the track,” stated Larson. “Although I’m certain it has evolved since 2012, the program has produced talented drivers and it’s exciting to witness.”

“Hopefully, in the future, we can include additional D4D individuals on our updated list of champions.”

UP NEXT

Next week, NASCAR will head to Phoenix Raceway, where Byron is the reigning race champion. In November, Chastain won the same race day that Blaney earned his first Cup title.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Source: wralsportsfan.com