Kyle Larson remained undefeated in his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet after taking the checkered flag in The LiUNA NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon.
The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion earned his 18th career NOAPS victory and gave JR Motorsports its fifth Las Vegas triumph. He took the lead on Lap 154 of 200 and pulled away to a 2.557-second margin of victory over fellow NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) driver Chase Briscoe.
“Clean air meant a lot today, so I’m glad we were able to get the lead when it mattered,” said Larson, who led 47 laps after starting from the outside of Row 1. “On that last restart, we had some guys stay out and I had a good lap and was able to get to the middle and get some clean air. Just me being able to run a line and allow my front tires to build to get where they needed to to allow my car to be OK I think helped.”
Larson will run in Saturday night’s SugarBee Blackjack Bash — the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Series’ season-opener — at The Dirt Track at LVMS as he aims for a weekend trifecta in Las Vegas. Should he win, it would make him the first driver to sweep a NOAPS and High Limits race in the same day.
Briscoe crossed the line nearly four seconds ahead of third-place Sheldon Creed in his No. 19 Toyota.
“It was definitely harder than it needed to be, but I had a really good Wix Filters Toyota,” said Briscoe, who started 23rd. “These cars just drive so different. In the Cup cars, we can’t even run the fence in (Turns) 1 and 2, and here you can move around, so it was fun. I’ve just got to be better, and just can’t mistakes at any level, especially when you’re racing (Kyle) Larson and guys for the win.”
Jesse Love was leading when a caution came out on Lap 119 and was sent to the rear of the field after a pit crew member fell over the wall into the pit box, penalizing his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet team for having too many people over the wall. Love rebounded, but was unable to regain the lead and crossed the line in sixth place.
Justin Allgaier, who won The LiUNA last year, took the first two stages and led a race-best 48 laps before finishing fourth in his No. 7 Jarrett Logistics Chevy. He now leads the NOAPS points standings by 13 points over Love.
Pole sitter Sam Mayer led 32 laps early before losing power on Lap 48 and taking a trip to the garage after the end of Stage 1. He returned to the track four laps down and finished 35th.
Tickets, premium packages and upgrades for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube race are available now at LVMS.com or by calling (800) 644-6444.
Bell earns fourth career NCS pole at LVMS
Christopher Bell secured the pole for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap of 28.853 seconds at 187.156 miles per hour. It is Bell’s fourth pole in 13 races at LVMS and his 15th career pole in 221 NASCAR Cup Series races.
“We had a lot of grip, I held my foot down and we won the pole,” said Bell, driver of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota. “Every time you come to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it’s a compromise of getting your car to have as much grip as you can have in (Turns) 3 and 4 without hindering you in Turns 1 and 2. Any time you make the car drive better across the bumps, you’re giving up performance in the smooth part of the race track, and my team nailed it. They did it as good as any of them today.”
Denny Hamlin, who won the South Point 400 in Las Vegas in October, will accompany him on the front row after clocking a lap of 29.003/186.188. Ty Gibbs (29.063/185.803) and Bubba Wallace (29.068/185.771) qualified third and fourth, respectively, giving Toyota a sweep of the top four spots for the seventh time in Toyota Racing history.
Two-time Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube winner Kyle Larson (2021, 2024) will start from the inside of Row 3 alongside Ryan Blaney. Defending Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube Champion Josh Berry qualified 32nd and will have a lot of ground to make up to earn a repeat trip to Victory Lane.
