Kyle Larson has had good luck recently in Las Vegas, where he starts the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs leading the Cup Series standings and is favored to win Sunday’s race.
Larson arrives at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway as both the defending champion of this race and the winner of the spring race there this season. Winning on Sunday would make it three in a row at Vegas and a complete sweep for the season, plus it would guarantee him a spot in the championship finale.
The playoff started with 16 drivers, and this three-race round of eight begins in Las Vegas to determine who will move on to the winner-takes-all championship four finale. The next races will be at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway in Virginia before the final race in Phoenix.
“Las Vegas has been one of our better tracks,” Larson said about his chances for Sunday. “On paper, all three tracks in the round of eight look good for us, but we still have to perform. I want to run well and win.”
Larson has two wins in the first two playoff rounds: one at Bristol Motor Speedway in the first round and another at the hybrid/road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week. That win marked his best season with six total victories.
Larson left Charlotte celebrating with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, as William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott all advanced, putting four Chevrolet drivers in the third round. However, NASCAR disqualified Bowman after a postrace inspection, which eliminated him from the final eight.
Joey Logano from Team Penske took Bowman’s place and joined his teammate and reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney in the round of eight. They are the only two drivers representing Ford.
Toyota has the other three spots filled by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, along with regular-season champion Tyler Reddick from Hamlin’s and Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing.
Larson mentioned that the Hendrick team felt the impact of Bowman’s disqualification and noted that Logano should not be underestimated. Logano is the only two-time Cup champion still in the playoffs and has won three times at Las Vegas.
“Obviously, I’d love to have Alex in the round of eight. Joey is a very tough competitor,” Larson said. “You can never count him out. So when he benefits from the disqualification, it’s like, ‘Dang, he’s a strong rival.’”
