In Las Vegas, Nevada, a booming tourist destination that is infamous for its casino and gambling scene, Kyle Larson's NASCAR Cup Series success is a low-to-no-risk bet.
Scoring the victory in Sunday's Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube, Larson became the first driver since Jimmie Johnson (in 2007) to win back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The victory also extends a streak of victories in the Spring event at Las Vegas by Hendrick Motorsports, which has now triumphed each of the last four years with three different drivers - Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and William Byron.
Of the team's four drivers, though, Larson is far and away the strongest when it comes to the Nevada-based racetrack.
Since returning to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021 with Hendrick Motorsports, the 31-year-old racer has made seven starts at Las Vegas, in which time he's posted some incredible results.
While driving the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Larson has picked up five finishes of either first or second place at the track, which includes victories in Spring 2021, Fall 2023, and Spring 2024.
Along the way, the Elk Grove, California native has amassed 602 laps led while driving for Hendrick at the mile-and-a-half facility -- an average of 86 circuits per event.
Before aligning himself with a juggernaut such as Hendrick Motorsports, Larson's stats at Vegas were still pretty spectacular, with three podium finishes in nine starts for Chip Ganassi Racing.
But, when behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports entry, especially as of late, there is no longer any room for excuses... not like Kyle Larson needs one, anyway.
Photo Credit: Tim Parks, HHP, Chevy Racing
GRAGSON THRIVES WITH NEW HOME... AT HOME
It didn't take long for Noah Gragson to find a nice groove in his new position as the driver of the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, scoring a second top-10 result Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track.
Finishing in sixth, the 25-year-old driver recorded his best finish at a non-superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, mustering the front-running talent that he prominently displayed when racing for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series.
The result becomes more impressive when considering the recent struggles for Stewart-Haas Racing on intermediate tracks, plus the team's new look for 2024 which includes both Gragson and Josh Berry as new hires.
Furthermore, it's been exactly two seasons since the No. 10 Ford Mustang, previously driven by the now-retired Aric Almirola, was able to record a finish of sixth or better on a traditional intermediate track.
Having scored a pair of top-10 finishes - ninth at Daytona, sixth at Vegas - Gragson has already bested his season-high total throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career -- before this season, the Vegas native had a single top-10.
Despite that strong start to the year, Gragson still finds himself outside of the top-30 in points following an L1-level penalty stemming from an illegal roof rail deflector from Atlanta Motor Speedway, which cost him 35 points.
Photo: John K Harrelson, NKP, Ford Performance
KAULIG FINDING QUIET CONSISTENCY TO START 2024
For the season that began with widespread skepticism around the team's NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup, Kaulig Racing has found a way to put together a quietly consistent start to the 2024 campaign, largely thanks to Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric.
The Kannapolis, North Carolina-native is sitting inside the top-20 in NASCAR Cup Series points after finishes of 16th, 18th, and 19th to start the year. In doing so, Hemric joins the likes of Martin Truex, Jr., William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Ty Gibbs as drivers that have yet to finish outside the top-20 this season.
While the No. 31 Chevrolet has maintained Hemric's trademark ability to put down consistent results, the No. 16 has also had some bright spots.
In the season-opening Daytona 500, AJ Allmendinger brought the No. 16 Chevrolet home in sixth place, the team's only top-10 result of the season thus far.
For the organization, a smaller accolade came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when Derek Kraus led two laps during a green-flag pit stop. The 22-year-old became the first driver since Scott Wimmer in 2000 to lead multiple laps while making their NASCAR Cup Series debut on a 1.5-mile track.
With Hemric leading a single lap earlier in the event, the Pennzoil 400 marked the first time that multiple entries from Kaulig Racing have led laps in a NASCAR Cup Series event.
Now, the goal for the organization should be to continue acquiring these smaller bursts of momentum to propel Kaulig Racing further up the grid, every week.
Photo: Craig White, TobyChristie.com
#SrigleyStats is a weekly feature piece on Racing America, written by Joseph Srigley, that highlights some of the most interesting stats from the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series race weekend.
