The NASCAR Cup Series has been full of twists and turns. With the series now coming towards a complete round-off, the next battleground is set at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After the victory at Charlotte Speedway, Larson sits in a comfortable spot and has the road to winning the championship laid out for him. 

To that end, Larson’s team is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his position at the top. However, it doesn’t mean the team has gotten careless. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels revealed the team’s mindset when it came to dealing with competitors ahead of the Las Vegas Race. 

Crew chief confident of acing competition at Vegas

A driver is only as good as his team and indeed it is the teamwork that makes a dream work. With such hopes and a unanimous approach to deal effectively with competition, Kyle Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels is confident of their stance in Las Vegas. After a phenomenal and much-needed win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, fans now anticipate the Kyle Larson show in Las Vegas too. The California native managed to lead 62 out of 109 laps which ensured he dominated the field with his driving prowess. 48 points above the cutline, Larson has enough cushion to show the audience a good game. 

However, the race ahead in Vegas is not as simple as it might seem. The pressure is growing with Christopher Bell in the second position with a difference of 13 points and Byron at a 15-point difference. Reacting to this, Crew Chief Cliff Daniels at the post-race press conference said, “Yes, to your point that the competition is going to be there. And I think our mission is going to be probably to be as tunnel-visioned as humanly possible to stay on our path and execute the things that we need to for whatever reason, the opening race of each round, you know this playoffs hasn’t been very kind to us and we want to go to Vegas with a lot of confidence just in our recent run there. We are going to have a healthy amount of respect for that race and really for all of them. It’s going to take a little time to get it right and make sure we’re where we need to be”. 

Daniels refers to the nightmare start for the round of 12. Kyle Larson and the #5 Chevy came off a blazing Bristol race, leading for 462 laps and setting the stage up for his championship quest. However, Kansas didn’t go according to plan, as Larson finished 26th. Talladega provided some semblance of hope as ‘Yung-Money’ steered clear of NASCAR’s biggest crash to bring it home in 4th-place. Given this string of performances, the Charlotte Speedway win comes as a big relief for Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle Larson’s collaboration with crew chief Cliff Daniels has been worth remembering. Both have won 21 races along with a cohesive 12-pole award. His confidence in Larson and his ability to make strategic moves have been highly effective. Consequently, coupling this with Larson’s proficient driving skills is indeed a winning recipe. Crew Chief Daniels also knows how important having three cars in the round of 8 will be, after Joey Logano’s entry into the championship race, but could it also be a drawback?

Addressing how he would tackle competition he said, “Yeah they do, and in a very you know strong amount of respect for all the teams that are going to be in the round of eight. Everybody has certainly earned their way to get there. I think our number one competitor is ourselves and I think we do the things that we need to do. You know our team can execute. Kyle’s doing an amazing job, the pit crew – everybody at the stops”. With the Roval victory being 6th of the season, Larson does need a good strategy to ace. His cushion points might come to a halt during the Vegas Race. 

Hendrick Motorsports holds 3 places in the Top 8

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The pit crew might be in high demand not only for Kyle Larson, as Hendrick Motorsports cars have made it to 3 positions in the top 8. Following Kyle Larson is Byron who secured 3rd position Sunday. He was already in the Top 8 based on the scores scored at Kansas and Talladega. He currently sits 4 points above the cutline. 

The Vegas Speedway was supposed to see Larson racing along with Byron and Bowman. However, what seemed to be successful for Bowman turned into a nightmare after he got disqualified post-race inspection. Consequently, officials determined that the No. 48 car failed to meet weight requirements. Although the team can raise requests for reconsideration, the position is now occupied by Joey Logano. 

All eyes remain on Kyle Larson, a dominant force in the 2024 season. With 5 wins under his belt, the Hendrick Motorsports ‘wheel-man’ has expectations riding on his shoulders. When Larson won the 2021 Championship, he marked his first win at the Roval, and with the 2024 NASCAR win at the same track, the Hendrick Motorsport driver has a chance to replicate his dream title-winning run. All of this hedges on getting the perfect start to the round of 8 with a good performance at Las Vegas. It’s a track Larson has a good connection with, especially since he won the last two races, the Spring Las Vegas race as well as the 2023 October Las Vegas race in incredible fashion, with over a hundred laps led in each race.