LAS VEGAS - For the second week in a row, Hendrick Motorsports was a model of consistency out West.
William Byron (fifth), Alex Bowman (seventh), Kyle Larson (ninth) and Chase Elliott (10th) all scored top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. It was the second-consecutive race all four of the organization's cars finished in the top 10 after pulling the trick at Phoenix Raceway a week ago.
For much of the race, a pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates - Kyle Larson and William Byron - looked the part of the cars to beat. They finished stage two in first and second place respectively and were at the front once stage three started.
But a total of nine cautions waved and the rash of yellows sent teams in a variety of different strategic directions. With teams making two- and four-tire stops while others chose not to pit at all, cars appeared, disappeared and then reappeared toward the front as crashes cut fuel runs short.
Hendrick Motorsports certainly wasn't immune to that either. Larson and Byron were among a group of cars that came down pit road to top off on fuel when a yellow waved early in stage three in hopes of making it to the end. The restart came with 67 circuits remaining but another waved when Noah Gragson slapped the wall with 25 left. By then, Larson had rallied to ninth and Byron 11th, but with tires at a premium, the entire field pitted together.
On the ensuing restart, which turned out to be the last of the day, Byron quickly marched forward to challenge for third but battling with Ross Chastain allowed the two leaders - Josh berry and Daniel Suarez - to pull away.
As for Bowman and Elliott, both had to again survive a battle of attrition. Bowman had to rush to pit road early in stage two with a tire issue and had to rally from a lap down. Elliott had a speeding penalty in stage one and was also able to navigate his way back from the rear. Both were buoyed by big points in stage one with Bowman coming home second and Elliott third.
Larson led an event-best 61 laps and along the way, surpassed Kevin Harvick for the most career laps led at the Nevada 1.5-mile tri-oval. He also scored a race-high 16 stage points.
The Cup Series will return next week with a race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Cody Ware, No. 51