Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued penalties for lug-nut violations Tuesday to three Cup Series teams after last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway.

Each team’s crew chief was fined $10,000 after their cars were found with a single unsecured lug nut following Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400. Those infractions fell under the heading of Section 10.9.10.4 in the NASCAR Rule Book.

Penalized teams were:

  • The No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (crew chief Matt McCall; driver Kurt Busch)
  • The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (crew chief Luke Lambert; driver Chris Buescher)
  • The No. 22 Team Penske Ford (crew chief Paul Wolfe; driver Joey Logano)

NASCAR officials also announced Jonathan Stewart, listed on team rosters as an engineer for the No. 21 GMS Racing team in the Camping World Truck Series, has been reinstated after successfully completing NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program. Stewart was suspended March 16 for violating NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy (Section 19) and Section 12.1, which outlines infractions and disciplinary action.

There were no penalties issued after Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas. The No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota for driver Matt Crafton failed pre-race inspection twice, and the team will lose pit-stall selection for Friday night’s LiftKits4Less.com 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Cara Cooper

When Randy Renfrow was a young driver racing at Wake County Speedway in North Carolina there were several older drivers there he would pick on and call “the old man.”

Now, racing late models at his home track at 63 years old, Renfrow knows how those old men felt.

“Now I’m the old man. Now they call me the old man,” Renfrow said with a laugh. “Be careful what you say. It comes back to you.”

The former NASCAR Truck Series driver may be in his sixth decade of racing, but he’s still able to add to his record win total at Wake County – a quarter-mile asphalt track in Raleigh, North Carolina that is in its first season of NASCAR-sanction.

“I’m 63 and I can still go do it, so that makes me feel pretty good too,” he said.

With 84 career wins, Renfrow is the all-time leader in victories at Wake County, which is just 15 miles from his home. In 2019 he won four of the six late model races he ran, and has one second place finish this season.

Seeing the record holder run at his home track though is a rare occurrence for fans, but Renfrow knows he has a lot of people who want to see him race as often as possible.

RELATED: Wake County Speedway

“I’ve got a lot of fans around here all through the years,” he said. “And whenever it is I’m not running fans will call me or text me, ‘Are you coming? Are you coming?’ so I like to go and hang out every now and then. It’s pretty fun to do that every now and then.”

Renfrow 5
Randy Renfrow is in his sixth decade racing.

Renfrow raced 48 times in the NASCAR Truck Series from 1996-2003, and made one NASCAR Cup Series start in 2002. Nowadays, he’s only able to get in the car about six or seven times a year because he owns a super late model and a modified and works full-time as a driver development coach.

When he quit racing full-time 18 years he started working in driver development with Joey Coulter, who went on to race in the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Series. Renfrow still works with Coulter, who drives Renfrow’s modified. NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Gray Gaulding was also a student of Renfrow’s, and he won a Super Late Model race at Wake County in Renfrow’s car when he was 13 years old.

Renfrow said he gets calls from all over the country from people wanting to bring their young racers to him to help them get started in the sport. The racing veteran said it means a lot to give young drivers help because he knows how difficult it can be to get into the sport.

He’s even raced against some of his protégés from time-to-time.

“I like to see these young kids and see what they can do,” Renfrow said. “That’s pretty cool too because I like to see them get going and sort of progress. I hate to see them leave here, but I like to see them progress. It’s pretty cool.

“I know what it was like when I started trying to find somebody to help me. My dad actually funded my very first car. We built it when I was 13. And I realized how hard it was to do. I kind of made it up through the ranks without a lot of money, but I was taught what to do. So now whenever I can get one of these little young kids going good it makes me feel good to know that what I’m doing is working, the way I’m going about it.”

Renfrow’s coaching style is to be easy and patient and make sure his students really learn all about the car. He said he gets more calls than he can do, and he believes his laid-back style is what attracts young drivers to him.

Renfrow 1
Randy Renfrow gets buckled in to go racing at Wake County.

“There’s no pressure. When a guy comes to drive your car and he’s 13 he’s not supposed to know anything about the car. That’s just the way it works. So you’ve got to teach them about the car, and when you make changes I always tell them what I do so they can learn about the car.

“You’ve just got to be patient and help them get going. It’s really amazing to see what some of these kids can do. It’s just pretty cool to see a kid enjoying it and then he goes out and wins. It’s hard to do. It’s harder to win than it used to be. It takes a lot of money to do it and even people that don’t have the money to really do it, I still try to help those people too. I help people outside of my program. I have cars that I help set up that I don’t race against. Different kids at the race track at Wake County, I get a lot of calls on basic set up stuff to help them get going. I always offer that for free. It makes you feel good to help people… If they ask you for your help you need to help them. It’s all worth it to me.”

It’s kind of “hit or miss” for fans to catch Renfrow racing at Wake County, he said, though he does plan to race there this Friday night. The track known as “America’s Favorite Bullring” was the very first track Renfrow ever raced on when he was just shy of turning 15 in 1973.

Even though he’s the “old man” out there now, he still enjoys getting in the car as often as he can. And if he isn’t racing at his home track, one of his young protégés may be.

“They always have some of the best racing there because it is so small. Everybody is on top of each other. You can’t really get away from each other,” Renfrow said of Wake County. “It’s a pretty cool little track. It’s one of a kind.”

Renfrow 2
Randy Renfrow in his No. 85 at Wake County Speedway.
Posted on by Pat DeCola

The Triple Truck Challenge Presented by Womply is back for a third season and it kicked off at Darlington Raceway with Sheldon Creed’s victory.

RELATED: Sheldon Creed opens The Trip win a win

Now in its third season, “The Trip” consists of three consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, beginning at the track “Too Tough to Tame,” where drivers compete for an additional $50,000 bonus for winning the race. If a driver wins multiple events, the bonus money increases up to $500,000 for sweeping all three races. The Trip continues at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, May 22 (1 p.m. ET on FS1) and concludes at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 28 (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

The program — like the Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash — is designed to give attention to series regulars with added incentive given to race wins. The brainchild of NASCAR’s Vice President, Strategic Initiatives Ben Kennedy, “The Trip” debuted in 2019. 

RELATED: Schedule set for 2021 version of ‘The Trip’

The first Triple Truck Challenge consisted of three consecutive races, held at Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway. Only drivers eligible for Truck Series points could be on the entry lists for those races. Greg Biffle came out of retirement to win the first Triple Truck Challenge event in 2019 at Texas, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Other winners that year were Brett Moffitt at Iowa and Ross Chastain at WWTR.

The 2020 Triple Truck Challenge was originally scheduled to take place April 18 at Richmond Raceway, May 1 at Dover International Speedway and May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it was rescheduled because of the COVID-19 outbreak and NASCAR’s subsequent pause from racing. The 2020 races were changed to the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, a rescheduled Dover date and one at WWTR. They were won by GMS Racing’s Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, and Creed, respectively.

MORE: Full history of Triple Truck Challenge winners

Posted on by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced his yearly NASCAR Xfinity Series start will take place at Richmond Raceway in the Go Bowling 250 (Sept. 11 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Buy your tickets now | Dale Jr. United for America gear

Dale Jr 22 2021This year’s start will come on the 20th anniversary of the 2001 attacks on Sept. 11, and he will sport a special United for America paint scheme to honor victims of 9/11 with longtime partner Unilever on the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. In the spirit of remembrance, his paint scheme will mirror that of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s Tribute in Light. The blue-and-white paint scheme will feature four spotlights each representing the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 Memorial site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, with the words “Never Forget” on the lower-rear quarter panel to honor those who lost their lives during the attacks.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since that terrible day,” Earnhardt said via a team release. “The spirit of unity and togetherness our country felt on Sept. 11 is just as relevant now as it was then. I’m honored to be driving this car and championing Unilever’s United for America program.”

Since retiring from full-time duty after the 2017 season, the 46-year-old has made one start in each of the past three seasons for the team he co-owns with sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick, JR Motorsports. All of those starts have resulted in top fives. In 2018, he finished fourth at Richmond. In 2019, he finished fifth at Darlington Raceway, and in 2020, he also finished fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

For his career, Earnhardt has 24 Xfinity Series wins and two titles. His most recent Xfinity win was also his most recent NASCAR national series win to date — in 2016 at Richmond. One of Earnhardt’s 26 Cup wins came in the sport’s first race after 9/11 at Dover International Speedway.

Posted on by Marcus DiNitto

Heading into the restart with three laps to go, I had a real chance to go a perfect 5-0 in matchup bets I placed on Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400. But things went south immediately upon the drop of the final green flag at Kansas Speedway, as neither the betting gods nor race luck seemed to be on my side.

At that late stage in the race, all five of my drivers were ahead in their respective matchups. By the time Kyle Busch took the checkers, though, my day had gone from great to a losing one.

This, sometimes, is how gambling goes.

In the hours before the race, I decided to test a theory that betting value can be found by comparing lines posted at sharp Las Vegas sportsbooks to those hung at other shops, and there were significant differences in matchup odds to exploit Sunday.

However, I was not exactly riding into the day with momentum. The Kentucky Derby didn’t go well for me Saturday, as I lost on similar principles on which I based Sunday’s wagers. The place I play was offering horse vs. horse matchups, but No. 10 Midnight Bourbon (+110) finished one spot behind No. 6 O Besos despite going off at 13/1 odds to the latter’s 41/1, and Rock Your World (9/2 odds to win) appeared to have clear value at -120 over Known Agenda (11/1). I also played Rock Your World to win and in several exactas, but he was running backward by the time the field turned for the home stretch.

Trust the process, as they say, so I spent some time over coffee Sunday perusing the NASCAR odds at SuperBook USA and Circa Sports — two of the most respected books in Vegas — and identifying spots that implied value at one of my outs.

It took guts to fire on some of these plays, as the theory suggested betting against some of the top drivers in NASCAR.

I gave myself around $125 to play with. Here’s how it went:

Bet: Ryan Blaney (+125) over Denny Hamlin (-145)

The SuperBook had the No. 12 Ford priced at -105 vs. the No. 11, while Circa was dealing Blaney +105. I liked the recent form displayed by this Penske driver as well as his performance on 1.5-mile tracks this season. Circa did adjust its line in Hamlin’s direction later in the day, but at a nice plus-money price, I was ready to sweat this one out against the Cup Series points leader.

With three laps to go, this looked like an easy win. Blaney was second, and Hamlin fell to a distant 17th after hitting the wall with 25 to go. Then, battling with Busch for the lead, “Blaney’s getting turned by Larson,” as Jeff Gordon exclaimed, and he ended up 21st to Hamlin’s 12th.  This is what’s known as a bad beat.

Result: Lost $25

Bet: Kyle Larson (-110) over Martin Truex Jr. (-110)

Here we go again with a bet against a dominant Gibbs driver, but the -130 on Larson at both respected Vegas books suggested 20 cents of value at my shop of choice.

This look liked a good bet all day, as Larson led the most laps (132) and probably had the best car on the track. But the Larson-into-Blaney skirmish cost me not one, but two winners, with the No. 5 getting shuffled from third to 19th and Truex finishing sixth.

Result: Lost $27.50

Bet: Chase Elliott (-115) over Kevin Harvick (-105)

Elliott was -135 chalk over Harvick at the two Vegas betting locales, and I was fine backing the Hendrick engine over Stewart-Haas at this fairly cheap price.

Elliott was one spot ahead of Harvick on the restart but was blocked by Brad Keselowski on the high side on the final lap as Harvick went low and snuck into second.

Result: Lost $28.75

Bet: Kyle Busch (+110) over Harvick (-130)

At the time I made my wager, Busch was a large -135 favorite at the SuperBook and -125 at Circa, so Busch was an obvious play as an underdog. By race time, my book had caught up with the market and was dealing -135 on the No. 18. That meant I had excellent “closing line value” — many bettors theorize that closing line value is what you should strive for, as you will win more bets over the long term if you have a better line than close than you will lose.

Result: Won $27.50

Bet: Matt DiBenedetto (-120) over Tyler Reddick

The -150 the SuperBook was flashing on DiBenedetto implied 30 cents of value where I shop, and while the Vegas book adjusted the No. 21 to -140 later in the day, his fourth-place finish over Reddick’s seventh gave me a second winner, and I averted a disastrous afternoon.

Result: Won $25

The final tally has me 2-3 on the day, down $28.75. That’s a pretty big swing from the $125-plus I could have realistically won had the last three laps gone differently, and I would make the same bets again. No matter the sport, value can be found by spotting inefficiencies in the market.

As importantly, for a recreational bettor such as myself, the excitement from sweating Sunday’s 400 miles was worth the 28 bucks.

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on by Staff Report

When Kyle Busch pulled into Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway after his Buschy McBusch Race 400 win on Sunday afternoon, little did he know the party had yet to begin.

Not only did the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver notch his first victory of the season — and first with new crew chief Ben Beshore — he did so on his 36th birthday, in a race that couldn’t logically wind up with neither he nor his elder brother, Kurt, in Victory Lane. All this to say: there were plenty of reasons for the Busch brothers to turn up the party dial … so they did.

MORE: Busch captures Kansas | All of Rowdy’s career wins

Arriving at the airport much earlier than his brother after notching a 15th-place finish, Kurt was able to have a full fiesta in place for the southwestern-born brothers to kick off Cinco de Mayo a few days early for a little impromptu birthday/victory party.

It took some time for Rowdy to show up, but it was worth the wait.

Even Samantha and Brexton Busch were able to join in on the festivities.

Posted on by Track Release

CONCORD, N.C. (April 29, 2021) – As plans continue to come together for the biggest Memorial Day Weekend salute to the troops at the Coca-Cola 600, Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Daniel Suárez spent time earlier this week visiting with sailors aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s virtual Mission 600. Now in its fourth year, the Mission 600 campaign was designed to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces as a prelude to the 62nd running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend.

While the traditional Mission 600 pairs drivers with regional military bases from across the U.S. Armed Forces, the ongoing pandemic shifted plans to a virtual video teleconference.

RELATED: Learn about the NASCAR Salutes program | Brad Keselowski visits Arlington Cemetery

During his online exchange, Suárez met commanding officer Lt. Greg Bredariol and his crew for a tour of the 154-foot Fast Response Cutter (FRC), which is based in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Sailors highlighted the state-of-the-art ship’s defense system, including a 25mm gun system capable of firing 180 rounds per minute and a 26-foot pursuit boat that is launched from the stern of the FRC. Suárez also toured the ship’s bridge and galley before fielding questions from sailors.

“For someone like me, coming from Mexico and having all these amazing benefits that this country enjoys thanks to you guys – our freedom, our safety – if feels amazing,” Suárez told the sailors after the visit. “If I ever go far into the ocean, I want you guys going with me. I wouldn’t take anyone else.”

Following the tour, Suárez shared some of his training regime that keeps him prepared and focused behind the wheel of his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, including putting time in on his iRacing simulator and maintaining a stringent workout and diet routine.

Suárez is the first of four Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers currently scheduled to take part in this year’s Mission 600, with Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano each scheduled to visit with service men and women in the coming weeks.

“The Coca-Cola 600 has become this amazing event that celebrates what our service men and women do every day to secure our liberties, but we also have this wonderful focus on what Memorial Day really means,” said Greg Walter, executive vice president and general manager at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Mission 600 really kicks that off for us, and while we’re disappointed we couldn’t be there in person, our resolve remains to shine a light on all that the U.S. Armed Forces do and the sacrifices they make to ensure our freedoms.”

Posted on by Press Release

SAN DIEGO — Psyonix, the San Diego video game developer, in collaboration with NASCAR, announced that the NASCAR 2021 Fan Pack will be available in Rocket League beginning Thursday, May 6, on all platforms.

The NASCAR 2021 Fan Pack will be available in the Item Shop and features three Cars (NASCAR Ford Mustang, NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro, NASCAR Toyota Camry), nine NASCAR team Decals and Player Banners, a NASCAR x RL Decal for each car, and Goodyear Racing Wheels. The nine NASCAR teams featured in the pack, along with which car their Decals will be available for, are:

  • Roush Fenway Racing #6 (NASCAR Ford Mustang Decal)
  • Stewart-Haas Racing #10 (NASCAR Ford Mustang Decal)
  • Team Penske #22 (NASCAR Ford Mustang Decal)
  • Chip Ganassi Racing #1 (NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro Decal)
  • Richard Childress Racing #3 (NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro Decal)
  • Hendrick Motorsports #9 (NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro Decal)
  • Richard Petty Motorsports #43 (NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro Decal)
  • Joe Gibbs Racing #18 (NASCAR Toyota Camry Decal)
  • 23XI Racing #23 (NASCAR Toyota Camry Decal)

The NASCAR 2021 Fan Pack will be available for 2000 Credits from May 6 until May 12. In addition, a NASCAR Trail will be available for free beginning May 6. The pack marks the start of a multi-year collaboration between Psyonix and NASCAR and will be available ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway taking place on May 9. The NASCAR 2021 Fan Pack will return throughout the year around future NASCAR events.

To learn more about the NASCAR 2021 Fan Pack, please read the latest blog post HERE.

Posted on by Zack Albert

The numbers generated by Kyle Busch in a sweepingly successful weekend at Kansas Speedway were bulky and brag-worthy.

His win tallies rose to a series-leading 61 in Camping World Trucks and another 58 in the Cup Series, tying him with Kevin Harvick for ninth all-time there. His first victory of the year on the Cup side also bumped him to 17 consecutive seasons with a win, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson and pulling him to just one year behind the all-time mark of 18 straight by King Richard Petty.

RELATED: Birthday toast for Busch at Kansas | Cup Series standings

Another number — a much smaller number — was just as momentous by contrast, and that’s the “1” that now resides in crew chief Ben Beshore’s win column as a big-league crew chief. Sunday’s broadcast captured Beshore’s elation atop the pit box after the checkered flag, but he admitted later to a mixture of relief blended in with the joy.

“A little of both. I’d say 50-50,” Beshore said after Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400. “Extremely excited, especially for my team to be able to come out here and grab a win and lock ourselves in the playoffs. Relief at the same time to prove that we can do it, that we have the speed in the cars and we can go out there and do it.”

Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Beshore was installed as the crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota team in the offseason in hopes of reviving Busch’s tradition of success. Busch had won 28 races and two Cup Series titles in six years with crew chief Adam Stevens, but last season the two went an agonizing 34 races before they scratched the win column at Texas Motor Speedway.

Enter Beshore, who had served as a race engineer for the No. 18 team, but moved up after a four-win season as crew chief for JGR’s Harrison Burton in the Xfinity Series in 2020. Now both crew chiefs have wins to their credit this year — Stevens in just the second start of his new role on the No. 20 team with Christopher Bell, and Beshore in the season’s 11th race.

FROM 2020: Inside Ben Beshore’s path to NASCAR

Beshore confessed, “I’d be lying if I said I wanted to wait until the 11th or 12th race and that being our first win.” But crossing off that goal in the springtime, nearly a third of the way through the season remains far more welcome timing-wise than a frustratingly long wait until late October — especially given the bright spotlight on his role as crew chief for one of the sport’s true greats.

“It’s a big deal to win. It’s a lot of pressure to win. We’re expected to win,” Beshore said. “When you’ve got a two-time champion like Kyle Busch, you expect to go out there and run up front in the top five every race and just be there at the end. So yeah, it was a big deal.

“And then the question about the pressure being off for winning and locking ourselves in the playoffs there is huge. We can maybe experiment a little bit later in the season or just go for some more raw speed type stuff. But it was huge, and it’s a lot of pressure off, to be honest.”

The pressure valve on Busch’s longevity streak has also been relieved. The next step is regaining his form as a driver with multiple wins each year. In every season from 2015-2019, Busch’s victory tally totaled four or more. “We’ve got to get back on that,” said Busch, basking in both victory and his 36th birthday. “I’m telling Ben every day, we’ve got to win 10 races this year so I can get that average back up.”

There’s still work to do in re-establishing the No. 18 team’s consistency, but similar days to Sunday would bring more of those gaudy numbers and post-race bows that Busch & Co. are accustomed to.

“We’re ready to get back on track, and it’s been a while, but I could feel it,” said Coy Gibbs, JGR’s vice chairman. “Him and Ben are clicking, so we’re looking for a lot more.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

The 19th-place perch on the score sheet didn’t reflect the daylong performance that Kyle Larson flexed Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was far from a mid-packer, but a wayward series of late restarts left him smack in the midsection of the 39-car field.

Larson led nine times for a race-best 132 of the 267 laps in Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400, but a closing jolt of chaos thwarted his bid to become the NASCAR Cup Series’ second repeat winner this season. Instead, another Kyle — fittingly Busch, given the race’s title sponsorship — scooted away to his first Cup win of 2021.

RELATED: Kyle Busch rises late at Kansas | Official results

Larson’s tipping point came in the final restart with two laps remaining. Lined up on the outside of the second row, Larson tried to push second-place Ryan Blaney to the front, but the aggressive move got the No. 12 Team Penske Ford sideways. Larson’s car swept into the outside retaining wall and Blaney recovered control, but the pair lost any sort of edge as they dropped back through the field. Blaney placed 21st, next to last among the lead-lap finishers.

“Yeah, just lining up behind Blaney, and my plan was just to push him as hard as I could and try and be with him on the backstretch to shove him and hopefully get them guys racing in front of me or potentially get inside or outside for the lead somehow,” Larson said. “I had just planned on pushing him really hard, and obviously I did that and got him sideways and ended up getting us both in the wall.

“Probably should have just laid off once I got to the corner and hopefully a run came to where I could get to his back bumper on the backstretch. Hate that I screwed that up and cost ourselves a good finish.”

WATCH: Final restart scrambles Kansas order

Larson had started 32nd after last weekend’s early exit at Talladega weighed down his metrics for Sunday’s lineup. He rose to seventh place at the time of the first caution flag on Lap 25, and was second to Busch when the first stage ended on Lap 80.

He found momentum in winning the second stage, and continued to show strength in the final segment, but a late series of yellows kept the field bunched. Busch and Blaney slipped by in a restart with 10 to go before another caution flag flew, and Larson never regained the top spot.

Larson continued a trend of solid showings on 1.5-mile tracks, where he finished among the top five in all three of those previous starts before Sunday’s. That stretch included a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a runner-up effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway after leading 269 of the 325 laps.

Larson is virtually locked into the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his Vegas victory, but indicated that the would-be wins that have slipped away in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports have tempered some of the big-picture positives.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s great. We’ve got one win. Could have four or five,” Larson said. “But yeah, just another day where I lead a lot of laps and don’t win. Just got to figure it out.”