Kyle Larson Sweeps Stage One as Battle of the “Kyle’s” Steals the Show at Las Vegas

Mar 3, 2024 | 5:19 PM EST

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Sin City favorite Kyle Larson drove the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a resounding Stage 1 victory at the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas, which marked HMS’ 100th stage victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Larson had qualified P2 behind Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who won his second pole position in two out of three races in the 2024 season. In a hard-fought stage victory, the California native looks set to take the charge for Chevrolet’s early season dominance at the top of the manufacturers’ table.

High-Stakes Gamble in Sin City for Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch

Last season, Larson won the fall race at Vegas and came in second at the 2023 spring race, which was won by his Hendrick teammate and P4 qualifier for this year’s race, William Byron. The #24 car had to pit during the opening stage because of “trash on the grill.” He got the free pass at the end of stage one and restarted 34th.

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Larson bested a seemingly fast Tyler Reddick, driving the #45 for 23XI Racing, for the stage win. Reddick started out in the middle of the pack at P18. The Top 5 were rounded off further by veterans Martin Truex Jr, Nevada native Kyle Busch, and JGR’s #11 driver of the Toyota Camry XSE, Denny Hamlin.

The initial leader of the pack, Joey Logano, finished 13th, while his Penske teammate #2, Austin Cindric, racked up P9, picking up integral stage points. Defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney finished just outside the Top 10 in his #12 Ford Mustang in the eleventh spot.

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Kyle Busch saie he lost all of the handling on his car at the end of Stage 1. @HeatherDeBeaux reports that crew chief Randal Burnett told him not to worry. They changed four ties and topped the @SunocoRacing fuel.
— PRN (@PRNlive) March 3, 2024

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Additionally, Las Vegas’ prodigal son, Kyle Busch, has the fastest car apart from the #5 Larson and looks set to break his unlucky streak at his hometown track, where he has an impressive average finish of 5.0 in his last six races. His Richard Childress Racing teammate, Austin Dillon, finished a disappointing P25 after starting P19 behind runner-up Tyler Reddick for Stage 1. In conversations over the radio, Busch also mentioned losing ‘handling,’ prompting strategic changes for the #8 car speeding into the rest of the race.

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The stages as a result were set for a dynamic showdown at the ‘diamond of the desert’ in this year’s Pennzoil 400.