Larson, No. 5 team secure top-20 finish at Richmond
TRACK: Richmond Raceway
LENGTH: 0.75-mile oval
DATE: July 30, 2023
STARTED: 14th
FINISHED: 19th
STANDINGS: 8th (-125 points)
Kyle Larson secured a 14th-place starting position during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions at our Home track – Richmond Raceway.
With teammates in attendance for Sunday’s showdown, Larson rolled off from the outside lane for the start of Sunday’s 300-mile race at the 0.75-mile track. The 30-year-old raced amongst the top-15 for the first 50 laps of the race. With 20 laps remaining in the 70-lap stage, Larson reported that his tires had minimal grip on exit. He slowly lost track position in the closing laps and at the end of the stage, scored in the 18th position.
At the stage break, crew chief Cliff Daniels strategized with the No. 5 team for solutions. When Larson came down pit road for four tires and fuel, the HendrickCars.com crew also serviced Larson’s Chevy with an air pressure adjustment to try to improve the grip on his tires. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion chose 19th and took the inside for the stage two restart. Following the restart, Larson lost a few positions and reported that his Chevy was tight roughly 30 laps into the run. Eight laps later, Daniels called Larson down pit road to the attention of his team for a green-flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Unfortunately, Larson’s Chevy was still tight. Nonetheless, he fought to maintain a top-20 position, until the next green-flag pit cycle occurred roughly 50 laps later. Larson pitted for four tires, fuel and additional adjustments with 45 laps to go in the stage. Despite the team’s efforts, Larson went a lap down to the leader with less than 10 laps to go in the stage, ultimately scoring a 19th-place finish at the end of stage two.
Under the yellow, the 30-year-old driver pitted for four tires, fuel and further adjustments. Larson chose 20th taking the inside lane for the stage three restart. Despite having speed, he struggled to gain much track position due to being one lap down. When it was time for green-flag pit stops, Daniels told Larson to stay out, opting for a differing pit strategy to try and re-gain track position. With the new strategy, Larson ended up pitting with 84 laps to go for four tires, fuel and adjustments. With the track remaining green while he pitted, Larson re-joined the field two laps down to the leader. The HendrickCars.com driver quickly raced through traffic with the fresher tires, climbing to the 19th position and earning one of his laps back before a caution occurred with nine laps to go. When pit road opened, Larson stayed out to re-gain his lost lap and become the last car on the lead lap for the final restart with three laps to go. At the checkered flag, the No. 5 driver finished in 19th position.
All four Hendrick Motorsports teammates finished within eight positions of each other. Chase Elliott led his teammates to the checkered flag finishing in the 13th position, Alex Bowman was scored just ahead of Larson in 18th and William Byron finished in the 21st position.
NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team will head to the Irish Hills and race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 6. The 400-mile showdown goes green at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA.
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