One way or another, a Hendrick Motorsports driver figures to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Las Vegas.
Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byrne in position to take the checkered flag in overtime.
Byrne took the lead on the second-to-last lap of OT to put an exclamation point on an impressive day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, Byrne, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.
Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Byrne led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup seasons.
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William Byrne celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
“I’ve led a lot of laps in the two races, but to be this good with this team is definitely a good sign,” Byrne said. “It’s a different feeling for me to have a team around me that can execute it well. It’s just a team effort.”
Larsson appeared to be cruising to victory when Erik Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap number 264, bringing out the second caution of the day.
“I think I could have won eight or 10 more cups if I hadn’t taken the caution in the last five laps,” Larson said. “I don’t remember many of them working in my favor.”
Most of the leaders took a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. opting to stay out in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota. Byrne, in the No. 24 Chevy, exited pit road ahead of Larson and then easily passed Truex after the restart.
Byron, who started on the front row with Joey Logano, won both stages for the first time in his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas.
William Byrne (24) celebrates with his team after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Eliot to begin rehabilitation
Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, will begin physical therapy on Monday, his team owner Rick Hendrick told Fox Sports.
Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott is back at his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident on Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.
Elliott joked on Twitter, “That the formal request I submitted for a minor edit to the March section of my script was actually… rejected.”
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He posted in a follow-up tweet, “In all seriousness, the support I’ve received over the past few days has been way more than I deserve. “I want to thank everyone who has lent it in any form!”
Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision will be made on who will drive that car next week at Phoenix.
The defending champ hits Wall
Drivers take to the track for their first lap during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Logano, the defending Cup champion who won the Las Vegas race in October, ended his day by hitting the wall four times on lap 183. He was running three-wide on the apron with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch in the middle when Logano collided with Keselowski, sending his Team Penske No. 22 Ford into the wall.
“I’m sure (Keselowski) didn’t mean it,” Logano said. “What are you going to do, right? We’re fenced.”
It was a tough day all around for Logano, who was running 15th after starting on the pole.
“Considering how we’ve been here in the past, you kind of expect a little bit more performance than we did today,” Logano said. “Just off on overall speed. We had the balance a little closer, not faster.”
The top non-Hendrick car
Bubba Wallace, driving the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage.
“It was in the top seven or eight the whole time,” Wallace said. “I was going to settle for sixth and the caution came out. My car got really off, really good (on the restart), best it had the whole race.”
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No home-track advantage
Sunday’s first stage was not kind to Las Vegas drivers Busch and Noah Gregson. Busch crashed into the wall, and Gregson was twice penalized for speeding on pit road. Gregson was later docked for a third speeding penalty.
Struggle in his hometown is nothing new for two-time Cup Series champion Busch, whose only top-level win was in 2009 in Las Vegas. That was Sunday the 14th.
Gregson, a Cup Series rookie, finished 30th.
