Kyle Larson had survived a wild Talladega NASCAR Cup Series playoff race this month with a fourth-place finish on Oct. 6 and had a 52-point lead in the playoff point standings.
The comfortable margin took the stress off Larson at Sunday’s race at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But that didn’t affect his approach to the weekend.
Larson led a race-high 62 laps and cruised to his Cup Series-leading sixth win of the season. He leads the point standings entering the Round of 8, which begins with the South Point 400 at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“It’s been challenging, but with the experience that we have as a team, we’re able to stay locked in and focused,” Larson said this month. “We’re able to overcome those challenging races a little more stress-free. We know we’re fast. We know we can control things we can control, but we got to keep running up front and keep executing.”
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, enters Las Vegas as the two-time defending race winner. He won the Pennzoil 400 in March and the South Point 400 last season. A win Sunday would be his fourth at LVMS and tie him with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson for the most wins at the track.
Larson overcame a potential playoff-ending challenge at the beginning of the Round of 12 in Kansas last month. He suffered a flat tire and crashed early in the race and finished 26th.
The following week at Talladega, Larson was near the front of the field, and it helped him escape a 24-car crash late in the race and put him in a spot to advance to the next round. Larson said The Roval always has been a “stressful” race for him, but he put together a dominant performance.
Larson, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, has become the driver to beat at Las Vegas. He has an average finish of 9.3 and eight top-five finishes in 16 starts at the track.
“Our car balance is really good, and we get through the bumps really well in Turns 1 and 2, which helps us move around and continue to carry speed and momentum throughout that corner,” Larson said. “(Turns) 1 and 2 is a strong suit for us, but you always have room to get better.”
In 2021, Larson won in the spring at Las Vegas in his first race with Hendrick Motorsports. It kick-started a dominant year when he won 10 races and the Cup Series title.
Larson’s win in last year’s South Point 400 locked him into the Championship 4 at Phoenix. He finished third at Phoenix and behind Ryan Blaney, who went on to claim the title.
A win Sunday would lock Larson into Phoenix with a shot to race for his second title. Larson said he thought his team has left some wins on the table, but added that in the playoffs making the most out of the race for good finishes is just as important.
“It just gets tougher and tougher as the playoff field gets smaller,” Larson said. “It moves the cut line a little closer to you. We’ve had a good regular season and playoffs to get lots of playoff points to allow us to have these unfortunate results to start each round.”
Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Up next
What: NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400
When: 11:30 a.m. Sunday
Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TV: NBC
Favorite: Kyle Larson +275
South Point 400 schedule
Friday
1 p.m. — Fan zone opens and NASCAR Cup Series hauler parade (around LVMS — open to the public)
3 p.m. — Ticket gate C and Neon Garage open (Free admission)
3:35 p.m. — NASCAR Xfinity Series practice
4:10 p.m. — NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying
6 p.m. — zMax CARS Tour West Star Nursery Classic (The Bullring)
Saturday
Noon — Fan Zone opens
1 p.m. — Neon Garage, VIP suites and ticket gates B-C-D open
1:35 p.m. — NASCAR Cup Series practice
2:20 p.m. — NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
4:30 p.m. — Ambetter Health 302 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff race (200 laps)
Sunday
6 a.m. — Fan Zone opens
7 a.m. — Neon Garage, VIP suites and ticket gates A-B-C-D open
8:30 a.m. — Speedway Children’s Charities live auction in the Draft Bar
9:15 a.m. — Pre-race track pass access open (front-stretch, pass required)
10:30 a.m. — Drivers meeting (Neon Garage, pass required)
10:40 a.m. — Drivers red carpet walk
10:55 a.m. — NASCAR Cup Series driver introductions
11:30 a.m. — South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race (267 laps)
