Larson remains hot in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Kyle Larson looks ready to make another memorable West Coast swing after kicking it off with another NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Larson overcame strong wind and two late restarts Saturday to earn his ninth career Xfinity victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The 25-year-old Californian earned his first victory on the 11/2-mile track in Vegas, where he finished second in both the Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup series races last year.

Larson claimed the lead on the opening lap and eventually led 142 of the 200 laps in his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. He avoided any late-race fuel trouble when Ryan Reed blew a tire with 16 laps to go, allowing him to gas up for the final push.

Rookie Christopher Bell finished second in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Justin Allgaier was third. Ryan Blaney, the pole-sitter for today’s Cup series race, came in fourth ahead of Elliott Sadler in fifth.

Larson is the 10th consecutive different winner in the Xfinity race in Vegas, and the Cup star was clearly the class of the field. He capably navigated wind gusts topping 25 mph on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip to earn his fifth consecutive top-three finish in Xfinity races.

“This race car is so fast,” Larson said after his second Xfinity start of the season. “It was really fast last year, but you never really know. This was my first time with this body, and it performed well.”

Yet Larson was uncertain whether his fuel would last until the finish, but the caution for Reed allowed Larson to pit. Larson quickly reclaimed the top spot despite falling behind Tyler Reddick out of the pits with 11 laps to go, and Larson stayed in front after the final restart with seven laps left.

Larson was phenomenal during NASCAR’s three-race trip out West last season. The Sacramento-area product finished second in the 2017 Cup series races in Las Vegas and Phoenix before winning at Fontana to complete a double with his Xfinity victory at Auto Club Speedway.

Bell followed up his thirdplace finish in Atlanta with another impressive performance by last season’s Truck Series champion. He had never made an Xfinity start in Vegas.