Larson returns with Vegas win
Hendrick driver gets first victory since suspension
LAS VEGAS — Kyle
Larson wasn’t sure he’d ever race again in
NASCAR, and if he could, he didn’t know who would even hire him.
It was Rick Hendrick who took the chance on a driver many believed was radioactive for sponsors.
Larson’s use of a racial slur while participating in an online race last April cost him his job, his reputation and his ability to attract the corporations that fund a race team.
Hendrick said he’d pay for the car himself because he was that confident that Larson, reformed after months of self-work, could be redeemed.
On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension. He ran just the first four races last season and was hired by Hendrick Motor sports when
NASCAR said the suspension would lift at the start of this year.
“Thanks Mr. H. for believing in me,” Larson radioed to boss Rick Hendrick after crossing the finish line.
He then celebrated his first career win on an intermediate track with smokefilled burnouts, including one on the backstretch for friends watching from a motorhome on the hillside above the track. Larson said he became emotional as he took the white flag but had composed himself by the time he finished his burnouts.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever have an opportunity to win a NASCAR race again,” said Larson, who again thanked Hendrick for taking “a massive chance on me.”
Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only Black fulltime driver, was one of the first competitors to congratulate Larson.
“It meant a lot for Bubba to come to victory lane,” Larson said. “He’s always believed in me. That was special.”
The victory gave Hendrick back-to-back victories. William Byron won last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so Hendrick has two of its four drivers locked into the playoffs just one month into the new season. season.
It was the first win for crew chief Cliff Daniels, and first for that crew since 2017 with Jimmie Johnson.
Larson’s last victory was Oct. 6, 2019, at Dover.
The top-nine finishers Sunday all represented NASCAR’s elite teams, with Erik Jones for singlecar Richard Petty Motorsports the only surprise with a 10th-place finish.
Brad Keselowski of Team Penske was second in a Ford and followed by hometown driver Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in Toyotas for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ryan Blaney was fifth for Penske and then Martin Truex Jr. and Bell put all four JGR cars in the top seven. Byron was eighth and defending race winner Joey Logano was ninth for Penske.