Three of a kind: Kyle Larson wins at Las Vegas for third time

 

[March 04, 2024]  Kyle Larson managed to double-down at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Larson held off Tyler Reddick in a 27-lap shootout in Sunday's Pennzoil 400, driving his No. 5 Chevrolet to his third career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Larson, 31, led 181 laps and beat Reddick's No. 45 Toyota by 0.441 seconds and won his 24th NASCAR Cup Series race. Ryan Blaney finished third.

Fourth-place finisher Ross Chastain qualified 20th, but a problem with the wrap on his No. 1 Chevrolet forced the Trackhouse Racing team to re-wrap his car, sending him to the rear before the race's start.

Ty Gibbs finished fifth in the six-caution race.

The win looked similar to last Oct. 15 when Larson led 133 laps in Vegas in winning the postseason's seventh race.

But Reddick made it tough on the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

"I knew Tyler was going to be the guy to beat from the first stage," said Larson. "Thankfully, I was able to air-block him for a couple of laps to get him tight.

"Cool to get a win at Vegas again, back-to-back, swept all the stages. Can't ask for much more."

Reddick said Larson made it difficult to pass.

"Kyle did a really good job there of pretty much taking away every option I had to close the gap," said Reddick, who recorded his first top-five LVMS finish. "He was kind of running in the middle of the race track, which made it pretty efficient to block both lanes. Every time I got close ... he could defend pretty well."

Pole winner Joey Logano struggled to find grip in his Team Penske Ford and came home ninth.

Hometown favorite Kyle Busch had a fast Chevrolet, but he pitted over the line with just over 50 laps left and served a penalty. His No. 8 ended up 26th.

Following caution-producing tire incidents by Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez -- last week's three-wide winner at Atlanta -- stayed out and was at the point again on a 1.5-mile track.

Mar 3, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) poses for photos with his family and crew following his victory of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

However, as tear wear began, Busch and Larson took turns at the front before Larson assumed the lead late in the 80-lap Stage 1 and held off Reddick for the most playoff bonus points.

As Stage 2 began to shake out, the Toyota Camry XSEs began to move toward the front with Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Gibbs, Bell and Reddick all spending time inside the top 10, while the Fords struggled to find the right combination of handling and speed.

With 20 laps remaining, Larson led Busch by nearly four seconds, but Bell brought out the fourth caution when he spun his No. 20 Toyota with nine laps left.

In a four-lap dash, Larson passed teammate Alex Bowman, who made a two-tire stop as the field took four, to win Stage 2's segment with Reddick again coming home in second.

With 95 circuits left after Stage 2 ended, Larson pulled out to a large lead, but second-place Reddick got a boost from teammate Bubba Wallace and was pushed to the front as pitting began with 60 laps to go.

On Lap 234, Corey LaJoie spun in Turn 1 for the fifth caution.

--Field Level Media

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