Larson earns second win of the season at Martinsville 

2023 Kyle Larson Hendrick Cars Martinsville win.jpg
TRACK: Martinsville Speedway
LENGTH: 0.526-mile oval
DATE: Apr. 16, 2023
STARTED: 19th
FINISHED: 1st
STANDINGS: 4th (-17 points) 

Capitalizing on a pair of late-race strategy calls, Kyle Larson delivered his second win of the 2023 season in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

After starting 19th for the 500-lap race, Larson quickly maneuvered his way forward, gaining nine positions by lap 16. As the stage went on, passing became harder to do but Larson was able to pick up one more position before finishing the first start in ninth at lap 80.

During the stage break, Larson came down pit road for four tires and fuel, gaining two positions on pit road, which set him up seventh for the stage two restart. The Elk Grove, California reported that his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was becoming tight after a few laps in and held onto ninth at the stage’s halfway point. Pit road opened after a caution on lap 32 and Larson took advantage for four tires, fuel and adjustments. He gained two positions on pit road and chose seventh for the re-start with 38 laps to go in the stage but fell to 10th at the end of the stage.

RELATED: Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com team victorious at Richmond

Larson lined up sixth for the race’s final stage thanks to quick work by the HendrickCars.com pit crew during the stage. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion held this position for over 90 laps before late-race strategies began to unfold.

The first came when crew chief Cliff Daniels had Larson stay out during the race's fourth caution on lap 304. That decision allowed Larson to jump up to third in the running order – the highest he had run to that point. Larson was able to get up to second place and was maintaining that position before a caution came out on lap 344.

Under yellow, Daniels brought his driver down pit road for two right-side tires and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com pit crew got their driver off pit road first. From there, Larson had to work around the four cars that stayed out (Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) – passing Logano on the inside to take the lead for good on lap 371.
 


The victory is Larson’s second of the season and he joins teammate William Byron as the only other multi-time winner this season. It is his first victory at Martinsville, his 15th in the No. 5 Chevy and the 21st of his Cup Series career.

QUOTING KYLE LARSON:
“Just a huge congratulations to this whole No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team and Hendrick Motorsports. I feel like Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and everybody did a great job all day on pit road - making the right calls, having great pit stops, and then it all kind of worked out for me there at the end. We had a great car. That was the best my car had been I think, being able to get out front and manage.

I never would have thought that I would win here at Martinsville. This place has been so tough on me. Just does not suit my driving style at all. I like to charge the center. I like to roll momentum, and that's just not what this place is like. Thanks to Cliff Daniels and everybody for making me feel like I know what I'm doing sometimes around here. I just can't believe it.”

NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet head to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway next Sunday, April 23. The 500-mile race on the 2.66-mile oval will broadcast live at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.  

 

Categories: Racing

Search Blog