Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, will have another shot at the Cup Series championship – he’s punched his ticket into the Championship 4, holding off the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry of Christopher Bell at Las Vegas on October 15th, 2023.
Larson was able to keep the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy ahead of the pack after a caution with 45 laps left, and he never looked back. He couldn’t quite shake Bell, who attempted to reel him in as the laps ticked down. However, Bell couldn’t find a way around Larson, and crossed the line 0.082 seconds back.
“Thankfully, Christopher [Bell] always races extremely clean. It could have gotten crazier than it did coming to the start-finish line, so thank you to him for racing with respect there,” Larson said. “What a job done by my team. Just a great race car.”
He added, “I almost gave it away there in Turns 1 and 2. Got sideways and hit the wall and had to fight back from there. I was happy to pull away as much as we did and was hoping that would be enough to maintain, which it was. But I didn’t think they’d be able to get as close as they did at the end. So nerve-wracking.”
Kyle Busch’s No. 8 NASCAR Chevy finished third behind Larson and Bell. The No. 6 Ford Mustang of Brad Keselowski finished fourth, and Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro rounded out the top five.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 267 | 133 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota | 267 | 61 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 6 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 21 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 267 | 38 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Relay Payments Chevrolet | 267 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | Jordan Brand Toyota | 267 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 267 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 9 | 15 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota | 267 | 23 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 5 | 17 | Chris Buescher (P) | Travel Centers of America Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Pennzoil Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | DoorDash Toyota | 267 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 13 | 10 | Aric Almirola | IHOP Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 36 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Mobil 1 Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stop Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BetMGM Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | NEGU Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 33 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 22 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 20 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 19 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Autotrader Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 27 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 30 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Smith's/Drumstick Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 32 | 41 | Ryan Preece | HaasTooling.com Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 29 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford | 266 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 23 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 26 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | ConectUS Ford | 266 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 34 | 15 | Brennan Poole(i) | MACC Door Systems Ford | 266 | 0 | ford Mustang |
| 30 | 31 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | BretBaier.com Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 35 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | LLumar Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 17 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Code 3 Associates Ford | 263 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 11 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 259 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 34 | 14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 144 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 25 | 42 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Tarkett Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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I’m looking forward to going to Phoenix in a few weeks.