CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports has prepped for Las Vegas and made sure to give the teams the best odds to strike it rich and take home the checkered flag.
Newcomer Kyle Larson, who is in his first season with the organization, has been an instrumental part of the prep in the team debriefs, according to Chad Knaus, vice president of competition.
“I feel like we’ve done a good job and I’m really just trying to learn everybody,” Larson said. “But I do think me coming from a different team and being able to talk about what I’ve previously felt in the past before … I think that can kind of help them know that they’re on the right path. And I think as we get more races into the year, I’ll be able to offer a little bit more. But I’ve been comfortable with everything.”
With lots of insight and a great track record at Las Vegas, Larson’s input has been taken seriously. In nine previous Cup starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he has three top-five finishes and six top-10s, including a ninth-place finish in this event last year. The driver posted runner-up results at the 1.5-mile track in 2017 and 2018.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 TEAM MERCHANDISE NOW AVAILABLE
Larson credits his success to the growing relationship with crew chief Cliff Daniels and the No. 5 team striving to improve.
“It’s great,” Larson said. “I feel like it’s even better now that we’re racing. I really enjoy him as a crew chief. I like how he is on the radio and how thorough he is on the radio as well as during the week… And really, my whole team, I really enjoy all of them. It’s a fun atmosphere and we’re all dedicated to doing a great job and putting in all the work that we can and studying as much as we can.”
“I don’t know if there’s really a team that’s worked harder than we have to be as prepared as we’ve been each week, and I think that’s why we’ve been good in these first three races.”
Larson and crew are sporting the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the first time this weekend at Las Vegas.
Larson’s HendrickCars.com Chevy pays homage to Ricky Hendrick, who drove a similar scheme when he was driving in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoor Truck Series (formerly the Craftsman Truck Series) and the Xfinity Series (formerly Busch Series).
Be sure to check out his new scheme and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET.