LAS VEGAS – Two was the lucky number at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Following a late caution that pushed Sunday’s race into overtime, Greg Ives had the winning strategy. The crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 called for two tires in the pivotal final pit stop to earn track position and give Alex Bowman a shot at his first win of the young 2022 season.
The driver certainly did his part, lining up second for the last two laps and going toe-to-toe with teammate and defending race winner Kyle Larson to earn the victory. It marked the 51st time Hendrick Motorsports has recorded a 1-2 sweep in the NASCAR Cup Series and the team’s third at Las Vegas.
“I just can't thank Ally and Chevrolet, everybody from Hendrick Motorsports, enough,” said Bowman, who also won the race’s first stage and led three times for 16 laps. “This thing was so fast all day. We never had the track position we needed to show it.
“What a call by Greg Ives and the guys to take two (tires) there. Obviously, it paid off.”
Larson followed up his win last weekend at Auto Club Speedway with a runner-up finish. William Byron came in fifth and Chase Elliott ninth to give Hendrick Motorsports three cars inside the top five and all four in the top 10 at the 1.5-mile track.
Bowman’s performance marked his first career win at Las Vegas and the seventh there for Hendrick Motorsports. The 28-year-old driver now has seven career Cup Series victories – all coming on different tracks. Only defending champion Larson has won more races since the start of the 2021 season.
At $2,000 per lap, the 51 laps led by Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday added a $102,000 donation to Samaritan’s Purse to support Ukraine relief efforts. It brought the total gift to $302,000.
Contributions toward Ukraine relief can be made at SamaritansPurse.org.