San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
HENDRICK HALTS POTENTIAL FEUD
Rick Hendrick spoke and his drivers heard the boss loud and clear.
Hendrick intervened on a competition matter for the first time since Kyle Larson joined the team when he squashed any potential beef between his stars following their run-in last week in California.
Larson, the reigning Cup champion, caused Chase Elliott, NASCAR’S most popular driver, to wreck last week as the two raced for the win. Larson did not see his teammate on his outside and his spotter missed Elliott, too, which led Larson to inadvertently run Elliott into the wall.
Elliott was furious and launched an expletive-filled tirade, while Larson was immediately apologetic.
Hendrick moved fast to ensure the first drama of the season didn’t play out inside his very own building. The owner joined the weekly Hendrick Motorsports competition meeting and made clear his expectations to Elliott, Larson, Alex Bowman and William Byron.
“That’s the only meeting since I’ve been there that Rick’s been a part of in that sense,” said Larson, who was hired in late 2020. ”He’s been to competition meetings and stuff like that. And we’ve had multiple meetings about different things. But as far as the racing and stuff, that’s the first one I can remember him getting involved in. I think we all know his expectations and after the incident last week, it was good for him to get involved again and tell us what the expectations are.”
Larson didn’t get to actually speak to Elliott individually until Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Larson is the defending race winner and looking to start another streak.
Bell to the front
Christopher Bell won the first pole of his career in his 75th Cup start. It was one of his few true chances to master a qualifying session.
NASCAR set the field by points for much of the last two years because practice and qualifying had been scrapped in pandemic restrictions. The return this year of one short practice session and a shootout-style of qualifying helped Bell finally get to the front.
He turned a lap at 182.673 mph in his Toyota to put the Joe Gibbs entry on the pole. Larson was second, but the parity of the new Next Gen car showed behind the front row.
Gibbs recovers in Xfinity race
Ty Gibbs recovered from a nasty first-stage spat and a failed attempt at retaliation to win the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Gibbs took the lead for the first time Saturday on a restart with six laps remaining in another sloppy showing for NASCAR’S second-tier series. Gibbs got a push ahead of Las Vegas native Noah Gragson and then pulled away in clean air.
Gibbs climbed from his car and immediately issued an apology to Ryan Sieg, who had feuded with Gibbs throughout the first stage.
Gibbs had made contact with Sieg to trigger the feud that only ended when Sieg wrecked himself trying to retaliate against Gibbs.
Notable
Russian driver Nikita Mazepin was dropped by Haas F1 despite the FIA ruling he could compete in Formula One races under a neutral flag. Haas also ended its sponsorship with Uralkali, the Russian fertilizer company owned by Mazepin’s father. Dmitry Mazepin is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his son’s contract to drive was linked to the team sponsorship.