Posted on by Marcus DiNitto

Bookmakers were quick to catch up to the immediate dominance displayed by Kyle Larson in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, shortening the odds on the No. 5 Chevrolet to +550 (bet $100 to win $550) with Larson in second place at the competition caution after Lap 26. Larson was priced at 10-to-1 odds (+1000) at Barstool Sportsbook and BetMGM when the green flag dropped at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

While Larson’s in-race odds did not return to the +1000 opening number, bettors had the opportunity to play him at +800 when he finished Stage 1 in 12th place. At that point of the race, leader Brad Keselowski and second place Chase Elliott shared favorite status, each priced at +500, followed by Ryan Blaney (+650), and then Larson and Joey Logano at +800.

RELATED: Race results | Cup Series schedule

Moving up to ninth for the restart, Larson’s price was trimmed to +700, while second-place Keselowski was posted as the clear favorite at +400.

The odds at which Larson was available between Stages 1 and 2 were as good as they were going to get for Larson backers, and there’s a lesson here for in-race NASCAR bettors.

That’s because it didn’t take long for Larson to pick through the field and overtake Keselowski for the lead on Lap 107, prompting an adjustment on the eventual winner to +450 at Barstool, and his price got shorter from there.

Larson’s odds bounced between +300 as he led the Final Stage restart and +450 when he emerged 15th from pit road with 83 laps to go, and soon after he was “minus money”, meaning bettors had to risk more than they could profit. Larson was -200 (bet $200 to win $100) with 30 laps to go and as skinny as -2500 when live betting closed at Barstool with about three laps left until the checkered flag.

The lesson is that timing is critical when it comes to maximizing your wagering dollar.

The best time to have bet Larson on Sunday was before the race started, when he could be had at 10-to-1 odds. But that’s an easy assessment to make after the fact, as such an investment would have required a prediction of Larson’s first-ever victory on a 1.5-mile track without the benefit of seeing how well his car was about to perform in Vegas.

Live (or in-race) betting, though, affords gamblers the chance to evaluate drivers as they compete in that day’s event. While you may not get as good a price as you would have before the race, you’re able to make a more informed decision after watching some laps, pit stops and restarts.

With Larson’s speed evident from the jump Sunday, the +700s and +800s he was offered at after Stage 1 — or even the +450s when his strength was more pronounced in the later stages — surely piqued the interest of astute NASCAR bettors.

Top 3 for the 18

Kyle Busch didn’t seem to love his car Sunday, complaining of tightness early, “Can’t keep on the gas and keep it turning,” and with 88 laps to go lamenting, “I’m slow as molasses and way too tight.”

https://twitter.com/JoeGibbsRacing/status/1368695892476391429

But Busch and his new crew chief Ben Beshore figured things out well enough for the No. 18 Toyota to make a late run and finish third.

Busch fans and bettors who kept the faith had the opportunity to play him at nice odds in the Top 3 market offered in-race on the Barstool Sportsbook app. Upon the Stage 2 restart, the Las Vegas native was +450 for a podium finish, and a fat +500 as the Final Stage kicked off. His Top 3 price was just +300 ahead of the race.

Other in-race betting markets

In addition to the outright (to win) and Top 3 markets, Barstool Sportsbook offered a sampling of head-to-head matchup props for NASCAR fans’ live betting enjoyment.

At the first commercial break, Martin Truex Jr. was a -125 favorite over a struggling Kevin Harvick (-106), and there were two pick ’em matchups on the board, each side priced at -115: Keselowski vs. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin vs. Chase Elliott.

With Harvick getting shuffled back in the field, the Truex vs. Harvick prop was the first taken off the board, while the two others remained open for wagering during the second stage.

So if you’re interested in betting matchup props live, get them before they’re gone.

DraftKings Sportsbook also offered live odds on the outright and Top 3 markets throughout the Pennzoil 400, and director Johnny Avello says there’s more to come in the future.

Said Avello in a text message, “We’re looking at expanding the NASCAR in running (betting options).”

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 Zack Albert

Talk surrounding the postseason bubble in March usually refers to college basketball. That madness is spreading, though, to the NASCAR Cup Series this season and the rush of unique winners that threaten to crowd the playoff field.

Kyle Larson added his name to the list with his victory Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, joining Daytona 500 champ Michael McDowell, Daytona road course winner Christopher Bell and Homestead-Miami victor William Byron. That’s four different winners in four races, and four virtual lock-ins to the 16-driver postseason grid.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Photos: No. 5 drivers through the years

In the last two years, the rise of a “Big 3” trio that corners the market on regular-season wins has left a healthy handful of spots available to playoff qualifiers on the basis of points. A swath of 22 regular-season races remain for regular repeat winners to take hold, but the long-shot scenario of “win and you’re (not necessarily) in” is inching just a bit closer.

“I think definitely we’ve seen over the last four weeks different teams in different places than I think preseason predictions would have said,” said Brad Keselowski, Sunday’s Vegas runner-up. “Still early. Got a lot of running left to do. But very interesting and a provocative year.”

A historical aside: Talladega Superspeedway’s existence opened with a baker’s dozen of unique winners in its ‘fall’ race, then called the Talladega 500. The track cashed in on the unpredictability, eventually marketing the event as “13 races, 13 faces” and wondering aloud who might be able to win it twice. Darrell Waltrip broke the streak as the 500-miler’s first repeater in 1982, then showed up the next year for a press conference wearing a shirt that read: “14 races, 13 faces. Sorry about that.”

While this season isn’t near double digits on the races/faces toteboard just yet, there’s still some intrigue in the early trends and jockeying for position in the Cup Series standings. With the acknowledgment that plenty of regular-season racing remains, here’s another of our periodic way-too-early assessments of the field and its playoff implications.

• Clinched: Just the four so far — McDowell, Bell, Byron and Larson. A favorite atop the sportsbooks board has yet to win this season, and Larson — the sixth choice Sunday at 10-1 odds — is the closest the series has come to a true top-horse bet. Time remains for the playoff grid to more closely resemble last season’s, but already three of this year’s four winners were not postseason qualifiers in 2020.

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

• High perch in points: Five drivers among the top seven in Cup Series standings have yet to win this year, but all of them recorded multiple victories last season and are accustomed to this placement atop the stack. Denny Hamlin remains the Cup Series points leader, with Brad Keselowski, Larson and defending champ Chase Elliott right behind him. Bell and McDowell have managed to keep some of their early-season momentum rolling with positions among the top 10.

• Mild mid-pack surprises: Considering the topic of momentum, Ryan Preece’s solid if not flashy performance has kept him among the contenders early on. His No. 37 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet ranks as the top non-chartered team at 13th in the points. Chris Buescher also remains in the conversation, finishing 14th at Las Vegas after an impressive outing early at Homestead-Miami. He’s 16th, just one spot ahead of JTG’s other driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

• Rally-cap time: Tyler Reddick made gains with his runner-up finish at Homestead, but he still has regular-season work to do, sitting in a tie with Erik Jones for 23rd. The rear-most portions of the top 30 are dotted with more names hungry for a turnaround — Aric Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto prime among them. Almirola has clinched a playoff berth in three consecutive seasons, all with Stewart-Haas Racing, but three finishes of 30th or worse to start the year have him among the group in catch-up mode.

Posted on by Jason Christley

Entering the 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Series season at Riverhead Raceway one of the most anticipated aspects of the original race schedule put forth by track management was the announcement of a four race Crown Jewel Series for the NASCAR Modifieds. The four race series would keep a set of points separate to the weekly track championship points with the series champion earning the Ted Christopher Cup. With Covid-19 delaying and streamlining the 2020 season the four race Crown Jewel Series was put on hold but track management recently announced the race for the Ted Christopher Cup would be a major part of the 2021 schedule.

The Crown Jewel Series is the concept of race director Scott Tapley and with GM John Ellwood’s help put together a four race series for the Ted Christopher Cup before the worldwide pandemic interrupted life as we know it. After the abbreviated 2020 campaign was completed with the Islip 300 last November track owners Eddie & Connie Partridge and Tom Gatz quickly assembled a complete slate of events for 2021 and once disclosed Tapley and Ellwood immediately went to work assembling the dates for the inaugural Crown Jewel Series.

The 2021 Crown Jewel Series will coincide with the four extra distance events the NASCAR Modifieds will contest in the new season and start with the July 3rd 71st Year Celebration 71 and be followed up in just four weeks by the second race of the series July 31st when the annual Baldwin, Evans & Jarzombek 77 is contested. One month later on August 28th the third leg of the series will take place during the 2nd annual Bubba 100 event.  The Crown Jewel Series will conclude with the $7,000 to win Islip 300 Saturday November 13th after which the Ted Christopher Cup will be presented to the champion of the four race series. The “TC” Cup will be a perpetual award presented to the series champion annually to remember his legacy this year and for seasons to come. The first three races of the series will also carry track championship points while the Islip 300 pays only Crown Jewel Series points.

Chief Technical Inspector Randy Murray also announced that the rules package for the Crown Jewel Series will be the same as those in place for the Islip 300 with team able to declare a touring series set of rules that they must follow to the letter. Teams can declare the weekly NASCAR Modified rules of Riverhead Raceway that mirror the WMT rule book or those of the Race of Champions Series, Tri-Track Series or Modified Racing Series. The 2021 Hoosier Racing Tire track tire rule will be utilized for the Crown Jewel Series events with qualifying procedure to be via time trials.

“Teddy Christopher was a bigger than life personality in racing” GM John Ellwood noted while speaking of Christopher who tragically lost his life in route to a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Riverhead in September of 2017, “Scott Tapley and I along with the promoters feel this Crown Jewel Series culminating with the presentation of the Ted Christopher Cup is a fitting tribute to Teddy and all his accomplishments”. Teddy was a 42-time winner on the NASCAR WMT as well it’s 2008 champion with “TC” collecting three of those victories at the historic Riverhead quarter mile oval. Additionally Christopher raced to one Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series triumph earned while racing weekly at Riverhead driving for Wayne Anderson with the tandem placing fourth in the track championship standings.

During his standout career Teddy captured an astounding nine SK Modified championships at Stafford Motor Speedway complimented by 131 career wins at the Nutmeg State half mile. “TC” earned four track championships on the strength 99 victories at Thompson Speedway in their Sunoco Modifieds and also made 47 career trips to Victory Lane at the Waterford Speedbowl. Despite his immense success to this day Teddy remains one of the most popular, polarizing and charismatic personalities ever to strap into a race car in the nation.

The 2021 race season at Riverhead Raceway will get underway with opening weekend Saturday evening May 1st and Sunday afternoon May 2nd. Seven divisions of racing will usher in the 2021 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series with the NASCAR Modifieds, Late Models, Crate Modifieds, Figure Eights, Blunderbusts, Super Pro Trucks and INEX Legend Race Cars set for action with qualifying set for 5:30 pm. Sunday at 12:30 pm the track will complete the busy doubleheader weekend with the annual May Meltdown Enduro program headlined by the Street Stocks and Mini Stocks with the Truck, 8-Cylinder Gut & Go and 4/6-Cylinder Gut & Go Enduro divisions all in action.

For our complete 2021 schedule of events please visit www.riverheadraceway.com. Race teams please note on the home page of our web page are the 2021 car number & W-9 registration forms as well the 2021 NASCAR License renewal form. To reach us by e-mail please forward correspondence to [email protected] or call 631-842-RACE.

Posted on by Jason Christley

The crew at Edmonton International Raceway wasn’t sure if they would be able to even host races last year, until it was late in the summer.

When the track announced they would begin their race season in August, defending track champion Erica Thiering only had about three weeks to get her car ready.

“I honestly didn’t expect to race at all last year,” Thiering said. “Not that we weren’t prepared, but we sure didn’t put a lot of of time and effort into getting things ready prior.”

Thankfully for Thiering, her championship winning car was still in good shape from the previous year. It came down to the final race, but a win on championship night gave Thiering another track title to add to her extensive collection.

Thiering has been racing at Edmonton – a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series sanctioned quarter-mile asphalt oval track in Western Canada – for 14 years, and has 12 championships in the track’s super stocks division, the top division at EIR.

She has also won the Alberta championship for NASCAR in 11 of the 14 years its been crowned.

PHOTO GALLERY: International Women’s Day: NASCAR Roots

The veteran had four wins in six starts, and never finished outside of the top-5 last season.

While the 2020 season was much shorter than is typical, Thiering said winning a title still wasn’t easy. They were able to do “preventative maintenance” on the car, and not too much had changed from the year before.

Edmonton had a host of new drivers in the super stocks division, though, and she had to work to learn the best way to compete against them.

“It made the guesswork a lot. You race against the same people for so many years you kind of know what to expect,” Thiering said. “Then when you get out there with new people it’s a whole different ballgame.

“We were pretty good. Our car is getting older in areas, it could probably use a little bit more TLC, get some new parts, but for the most part it’s been a pretty decent car. Other than the odd, occasional thing that wants to break.”

Thiering had to win on championship to lock up the title by eight points over Terry Dowler.

“It was actually a lot harder because he’s a very seasoned driver,” she said of Dowler. “He’s raced the NASCAR Pinty Series and he’s a really seasoned driver so I definitely had a hell of a time trying to beat him.”

Learning how to adapt to new competition has been the toughest part of Thiering’s championship streak. She’s learned to not get too used to any group of competitors.

“It’s just adapting to the new people,” she said. “For so many years racing with the same people, you start to get to know them and people kind of start cycling through a little bit. You’ve just got to learn people again. Because I know the race track. I’ve raced there for 14 years now. It’s just a thing to know the people you’re racing against and keeping up with the competition.”

While Thiering has a dozen championships at her home track, she isn’t stressing about getting lucky No. 13. When she first started racing at 16 years old, she put pressure on herself to win races and titles.

But as she’s gotten older, her mentality towards the sport has changed.

“Back in the day I used to put that pressure on myself. I really wanted to win championships,” she said. “Not that I’m getting old, by any means, but now that I am getting a little bit older I just want to go out there, I want to have fun, and I don’t really care if I win anymore. I’m just enjoying myself. I’m not into like, ‘I have to win, I have to win.’ I’m just racing for fun. If I do win, great. If I don’t, I’m totally fine.”

She’s also not putting pressure on herself to be at Edmonton every week this summer.

“It was up until three seasons ago I ran every weekend and then I just wanted to take a half season, and it was the most fun season I’ve ever done,” Thiering said. “I would happily do that. It’s just no more pressure and you’re just enjoying the sport. I find that there’s a lot of times when people get so intense into it, which is good, but you just want to enjoy it. That’s what it’s about. At the end of the day you want to enjoy what you’re doing, right?”

Thiering won’t be giving up on racing completely, though. She said there’s still quite a few things she loves about the sport and keeps her wanting to come back to the track week after week.

It’s the people, her crew, and her “little race track family,” that make going for No. 13 worth it.

“They make it fun every weekend. They’re ready to come out, and that gets me excited, of course,” she said. “I’ve been out there 14 years. I like the adrenaline of the actual racing. It kind of takes away the frustrations of regular life.”

Posted on by Data Skrive

Chris Buescher finished 14th in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Buescher’s result added 23 points to his season total.

Buescher started in 18th position. The seventh-year driver has one career victory, with six top-five finishes and 20 results inside the top 10.

Chris Buescher Driver Page | NASCAR Results | NASCAR Standings

Over the course of his career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Buescher has started nine races, completed all of them, and compiled one top-10 finish.

The Prosper, Texas native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting six spots higher than his career mark of 24.3 and completing the race eight places ahead of his 21.6 career average finish.

Buescher took on 38 other drivers on the way to his 14th-place finish. The race endured six cautions and 30 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 27 lead changes.

Kyle Larson earned the checkered flag in the race, and Brad Keselowski finished second. Kyle Busch placed third, Denny Hamlin took fourth, and Ryan Blaney grabbed the No. 5 spot.

After Keselowski won the first stage, Larson grabbed control and won Stage 2 before driving to victory.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished 11th in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Stenhouse’s result added 26 points to his season total.

Stenhouse started in 17th position. The 11th-year driver has secured two career victories, with 18 top-five finishes and 38 results inside the top 10.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr Driver Page | NASCAR Results | NASCAR Standings

Over the course of his career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Stenhouse has put together one top-five finish and two top-10s.

The Olive Branch, Mississippi native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting one spot higher than his career mark of 18 and completing the race nine places ahead of his 19.7 career average finish.

Stenhouse’s 11th-place finish came against 38 other drivers. The race endured six cautions and 30 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 27 lead changes.

Kyle Larson secured the win in the race, and Brad Keselowski finished second. Kyle Busch crossed the finish line third, Denny Hamlin secured fourth, and Ryan Blaney finished off the top five.

After Keselowski won the first stage, Larson grabbed control and won Stage 2 before taking the checkered flag.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Erik Jones rounded out the top 10 in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. The top-10 finish for Jones added 27 points to his season total.

Jones started in 29th position. The sixth-year driver has collected two career victories, with 33 top-five finishes and 63 results inside the top 10.

Erik Jones Driver Page | NASCAR Results | NASCAR Standings

Over the course of his career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jones has started eight races, completed seven of them, and compiled three top-10 finishes.

The Byron, Michigan native began the race 13 spots behind his career mark of 15.8, but finished eight places ahead of his career average of 18.2.

Jones’ 10th-place finish was against a field of 38 drivers. The race endured six cautions and 30 caution laps. There were 27 lead changes.

Kyle Larson earned the win in the race, and Brad Keselowski finished second. Kyle Busch placed third, Denny Hamlin took fourth, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five.

After Keselowski won the first stage, Larson seized control and won Stage 2 before taking the checkered flag.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Ryan Blaney finished fifth in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Blaney’s top-five finish added 46 points to his season total.

Blaney started in 26th position and led one lap in the race. The eighth-year driver has piled up four career victories, with 39 top-five finishes and 77 results inside the top 10.

Ryan Blaney Driver Page | NASCAR Results | NASCAR Standings

In his career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Blaney has compiled four top-five finishes and his fifth-place result marks the seventh top-10.

The High Point, North Carolina native began the race 13 spots behind his career mark of 13.2, but finished 13 places ahead of his career average of 18.5.

Blaney’s fifth-place finish was against a field of 38 drivers. The race endured six cautions and 30 caution laps. There were 27 lead changes.

Kyle Larson brought home the win in the race, and Brad Keselowski finished second. Kyle Busch placed third, with Denny Hamlin bringing home fourth place. Blaney rounded out the top five.

After Keselowski won the first stage, Larson grabbed control and won Stage 2 before earning the checkered flag.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. The top-10 finish for Truex added 35 points to his season total.

Truex started in fourth position and led six laps in the race. The 18th-year driver has collected 27 career victories, with 117 top-five finishes and 230 results inside the top 10.

Martin Truex Jr Driver Page | NASCAR Results | NASCAR Standings

Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Truex, who has two career wins at the track. He has also compiled six top-five finishes at Las Vegas and his sixth-place result marks the 10th top-10.

The Mayetta, New Jersey native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 11 spots higher than his career mark of 15.4 and completing the race 11 places ahead of his 16.8 career average finish.

Truex’s sixth-place finish was against 38 other drivers. The race endured six cautions and 30 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 27 lead changes.

Kyle Larson earned the checkered flag in the race, and Brad Keselowski finished second. Kyle Busch placed third, Denny Hamlin secured fourth, and Ryan Blaney finished off the top five.

After Keselowski won the first stage, Larson took control and won Stage 2 before earning the checkered flag.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Cliff Daniels’ path to becoming a winning NASCAR Cup Series crew chief has been quite the journey, a trail that began as a promising race engineer for Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. When Daniels took over, Johnson illustrated his new crew chief’s devotion to the team by saying that “he truly bleeds the 48.”

In a turnabout, that team is now the No. 5, and the suggestion that his circulatory system still courses with Ally purple may no longer apply. That team’s driver is now Kyle Larson, who brought the group back to Victory Lane for the first time since 2017 with his win Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It’s been a hell of a journey for all of us,” Daniels told his crew over the team radio after Larson drove under the checkered flag. “Really proud of you guys. Great work. Long time coming.”

RELATED: Race results | Larson rolls at Las Vegas

Daniels’ win came in his 55th start as a big-league crew chief, but even in that relatively brief time, he’s been through a gauntlet of changes. Suddenly thrust into calling the shots for Johnson midstream in the 2019 season, Daniels took over with the goal of revitalizing the playoff hopes of a seven-time series champion before his ride into semi-retirement.

No pressure, right? His midseason efforts two years ago weren’t quite enough to salvage an 11th-hour postseason spot, and the unusual 2020 campaign — when Johnson missed a race because of a COVID-19 diagnosis and was disqualified from the Coca-Cola 600 for a technical violation — also came up just short at the end of the regular season.

Through it all, Daniels remained largely unflappable as he led with his radio communications, but the feelings from those two seasons lingered, even as his pairing with Larson was about to connect.

“Kyle coming onboard has just been a nice spark for this team because it was tough to see Jimmie retire,” Daniels said after Sunday’s win. “We wanted to win with him so bad, and we had some great runs last year that just never materialized for one reason or another.

“So, yeah, I mean, it was tough on our team to learn those lessons and fight those battles and to have Jimmie go retire. A lot of us had won not just one race but a lot of races or even championships with Jimmie. To end without getting a win, to see him kind of move on was so bittersweet.”

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

So while the backbone of the team remained intact for 2021, Daniels entered a new chapter with a new driver and a new car number this season. Any doubts about how quickly the pairing might click might be understood, especially with pre-race on-track time limited this year as COVID protocols continue. But just four races into the Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports has a modest two-race win streak rolling, with both victories produced by its newest driver-crew chief combinations.

William Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle set the tone with their first win together the previous week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sunday, the time was primed for Larson and Daniels.

“Cliff has a really good team,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “I didn’t really expect for it to come this quick because I just thought it would take more time to jell. But our cars are fast. He’s a champion really. I’m so lucky to have him. Cliff is just a great young man. To win in the fourth race, especially when you don’t have any practice, you just show up and race, it’s really been awesome. I think they’re going to have a lot of success together this year.”

MORE: Cup Series points standings

Credit the extra levels of preparations by both driver and crew chief, a foundation that began in the offseason and continues today, for offsetting the lack of practice and qualifying at a majority of the races so far.

“You have to be right when you unload for the race,” Daniels says. “We knew it was going to take a lot of prep work to get here. We’ve done that every week. Kyle is in the shop three days a week just poring through notes with us, looking at video, looking at data. Our guys have done a nice job to help get him prepared, and likewise he’s done a nice job of just giving us sensations he needs to feel, things he’s felt in the past and how he would like the car to respond in certain situations.”

Daniels had his own response down the stretch at Las Vegas, drawing on lessons from longtime team leader Chad Knaus, who has hung up his crew-chief headset to take the helm as vice president of competition at HMS this year.

Daniels says he learned long ago to always think ahead as the race progressed. To that end, he said he had two contingency plans in place in the event that a caution period interrupted the final stage and forced his hand with pit strategy. When the race went the final 83 laps under green-flag conditions, those alternate plans weren’t needed.

Even when Larson initially missed his pit entry ahead of his final stop, he was met with steady reassurance over the team radio. The pit-stop exchange cycled the revived No. 5 back to the lead and its 28-year-old driver did the rest.

“Kyle is so good and so confident in himself that he doesn’t need a lot of cheerleading,” Daniels says. “We’re just trying to make sure we have all the pieces around him set up the right way so he can go get the job done. He was on it today.”