Larson, HendrickCars.com team finish 27th in regular season finale at Daytona
TRACK: Daytona International Speedway
LENGTH: 2.5-mile
DATE: Aug. 26, 2023
STARTED: 7th
FINISHED: 27th
STANDINGS: 7th (-153 points)
Friday at Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Larson was fast during qualifying. He advanced into the second round to score a seventh-place starting position for Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the best of all the Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers and all Chevys.
At the green flag for the 400-mile race, the Elk Grove, California, native rolled the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet off from the inside of the fourth row. By the fifth lap, Larson advanced into the top five. At 10 laps in to the race, Larson reported that his Chevy Camaro ZL1 was very balanced. The field raced tightly packed and intensely throughout the opening stage. With 10 laps to go, the outside lane dwindled leaving Larson with no help and a loss in track position. At the end of stage one on lap 35, he scored the No. 5 team a 20th-place finish.
During the stage break, a fast pit stop for four tires and fuel from the HendrickCars.com pit crew gained the team five positions on pit road. Larson chose 16th for the restart with 55 laps to go in the second stage. The Hendrick Motorsports driver fluctuated amongst the top-23 positions for the first half of the stage, eventually settling into the middle lane where he could more easily save fuel. With 25 laps to go in the 60-lap stage, Larson was in the sixth-position pushing teammate Chase Elliott in fourth. The two fell back in the field in the following laps, but successfully stuck together for drafting advantages. With five laps remaining in the stage, Larson pit under green for four tires and fuel, re-entering the field amongst the top 20. However, a caution occurred on the final lap of the stage, causing the No. 5 driver to be scored in the 36th-position after suffering two flat tires from the on-track incident.
NASCAR called for a brief red flag for track cleanup, and once it was lifted, Larson received towing assistance to pit road. There his team delivered four new tires, fuel and an assessment to his Chevy. Little damage was done to the body of the car, but the on-track incident scored the No. 5 driver three laps down and he choose 31st for the start of stage three. With 35 laps to go, NASCAR reviewed their scoring and credited Larson one of his laps back, leaving him now two laps down in the 29th position. With 13 laps to go, Larson executed a green-flag pit stop for four tires and fuel. When the HendrickCars.com Chevy re-joined the field with five laps to go, Larson was pushing Elliott (fifth position) when a caution occurred. Electing to stay out when pit road opened, Larson finished the overtime attempt in the 27th in the final race of the regular season.
NEXT RACE:
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team head to Darlington Raceway for the first race of the NASCAR playoffs. The 500-mile race takes place Sunday, September 3 and green at 6 p.m. ET on USA.
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