Top-10 finish at The Brickyard for Larson, HendrickCars.com team

Top-10 finish at The Brickyard for Larson, HendrickCars.com team 

Before hopping into his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy for Sunday’s race at The Brickyard, Larson, along with Rick Hendrick and dignitaries from Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren, unveiled the Hendrick 1100, a fan-centric celebration of the NASCAR champion’s attempt to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway on the say day – May 24, 2024. Matching liveries on both race cars were also revealed that combine the traditional HendrickCars.com blue with Arrow McLaren’s eye-catching papaya on the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet IndyCar and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Hendrick 1100 Chevrolet Camaro NASCAR Cup Series entries, respectively.


When the Cup Series took the green flag Sunday for the 200-mile race, Larson rolled off from the outside of the third row. The No. 5 driver was able to gain a position on track before a caution occurred almost immediately on lap 2. Larson chose fifth taking the inside of the third row for the restart with 10 laps to go in the first stage. On lap 13 with two laps to go in the stage, a green-flag pit cycle began. Larson stayed out in effort to secure a strong stage finish. With the cycle staying green at lap 15, he scored a fifth-place finish in stage one, collecting stage points.

Just three laps into the second stage, crew chief Cliff Daniels called Larson down pit road to the attention of his crew for four tires, fuel and adjustments. He re-entered the field mid-pack, with other competitors still needing to pit. He continued to execute fast laps and was racing in the eighth position when he missed his marks in turn 12 on lap 27, forcing him to complete a stop and go penalty. Loosing track position during the penalty, Larson began to maneuver his way back forward, re-entering the top 10 with six laps to go in the second stage. At the completion of lap 35, the No. 5 driver scored his team a 10th-place finish, picking up an additional stage point.

As the race continued to stay green, Larson gained two positions quickly to start the final stage. On lap 50, the Elk Grove, California, native visited his team for another green-flag pit stop. He got four tires and fuel, re-entering the field in the 17th position. During the next six laps, Larson gained six positions. The HendrickCars.com driver gained two additional positions over the next 10 laps before securing an eighth-place finish at the 2.439-mile long track.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron were scored with second, fifth and 14th-place finishes respectively.

QUOTING KYLE LARSON:
“I’m a little bit bummed. I made a mistake in turn 12 there and locked up. The race went green from then on. I don’t know. I’ll have to see the gaps. If I didn’t make that mistake, maybe I’d finish third or fourth. I’m bummed about that, but all in all, it could have been worse. I just have to clean up a little bit. All in all a good day. It was just a long green flag run. When things get spread out, it’s really hard to pass. The No. 20 and the No. 91 were better than I was in the end, but it was just going to be hard to pass.”

NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team head to Watkins Glen International for the second consecutive road course race on the schedule. The 90-lap race on Sunday, Aug. 20 goes green at 3 p.m. ET on USA.