Racing Insights: Will Kyle Larson respond to Christopher Bell’s win streak?

Another weekend came and went with Christopher Bell in Victory Lane … again. Which leaves us with one big question: Who can slow down Bell and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team?

Bell became the first driver in the Next Gen era to win three races in a row and the first driver to accomplish that feat since Kyle Larson in 2021. Looking ahead to Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio), we should expect Bell and Larson to be right up front again, duking it out for the win.

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We know the two drivers had a rivalry growing up on dirt tracks, which has somewhat followed them to the Cup Series in a handful of close battles for the win. One of those bouts came at the 2023 Las Vegas fall race, where Bell was tracking down Larson in the closing laps but had to settle for second by just 0.082 seconds. This year, however, feels as though the tables have turned. Larson has already finished third in two of Bell’s wins this season and is chasing the No. 20 Toyota across the board in the driver standings.

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A quick tale of the tape between these two stars, especially at intermediate tracks, means both Bell and Larson will be the ones to beat at Las Vegas.

In the red corner, there’s Bell, a three-time winner with eyes dead-set on four in a row. He has five straight top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks — tied for the longest active streak — and has won the pole in three of the last five races on intermediates. Bell has also netted a top-10 finish at Las Vegas in half of his 10 starts there. More recently, he’s turned in three top-five performances in the last four races in Nevada.

In the blue corner, there’s Larson, who has won two of the last three Las Vegas races. His average start (7.2) and finish (9.4) rank best out of all drivers and has led 629 laps at Las Vegas, which ranks second all-time to Kevin Harvick. Larson also has eight wins on intermediates since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 and has led laps in 13 of the last 14 races on 1.5-mile tracks.

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OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

ROSS CHASTAIN: Another driver who has been consistently good in the Sin City is Chastain. He has five top 10s in the last six races there and a 5.5 average finish at the track in the Next Gen car, which leads all drivers across that span.

TYLER REDDICK: Reddick has five top 10s in the last seven Las Vegas races, including a runner-up effort in this race last year. Reddick does have three wins on intermediate tracks in his Cup career, plus he already has finishes of second and third, so a win is on the horizon.

ALEX BOWMAN: It may not be three wins, but Bowman is also off to a hot start to the season with three top 10s. Like Bell, he has also finished in the top 10 in half of 10 starts at Las Vegas and shares the longest active streak for five top 10s on intermediate tracks.

JOEY LOGANO: Logano is the first defending champ to not record a top-10 finish through a season’s first four races. His luck, though, should change at Las Vegas, a track where he owns four wins — tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most — including his triumph there last fall.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK: Nemechek is off to a solid start through the first four weeks with an average finish of 12.75 and two top 10s. He’s won at Las Vegas in both the Xfinity and Trucks Series, plus his ninth-place finish at Las Vegas last fall is his best finish on 1.5-mile tracks at the Cup level.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on raceday with practice and qualifying factored in.