(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden

Main Takeaway

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

– Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

It truly was a bittersweet weekend for Hendrick Motorsports in Sin City. Like a gambler that won big but lost precious assets along the way, Chevrolet’s longtime leaders saw one of their best on-track results, but chased it with terrible news off-track.

The on-track effort was a feat of strength. William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman combined to finish 1-2-3 in a race that rarely looked like it would go the way of any other organization. Byron led 176 of the race’s 271 laps to dominate the middle portion of the event. Larson poured on 63 laps of his own and was positioned to win the race in the closing stretch.

Martin Truex Jr. tried to stay out after a late caution that forced overtime and manufacture a sneaky victory for Joe Gibbs Racing. But in the end it was Byron, whose team got him off of pit road ahead of Larson on the last pit sequence, that streaked past Truex on the first lap of overtime and marched off to the win.

Byron credited his team, saying they “work extremely hard” and acknowledging heavy offseason efforts in the sim and elsewhere that allowed all involved to improve. Larson chocked up his lost win as “just part of Cup racing” after a runner-up run. Bowman lamented being too tight in the final stage, but noted the 1-2-3 result as “really awesome” while expressing his pride with Hendrick Motorsports as a whole.

It was a near-perfect day for Hendrick Motorsports. There was just one thing missing.

Chase Elliott.

Elliott spent Sunday’s race day away from the track, recovering from a three-hour surgery Friday to repair a broken left tibia sustained in a snowboarding crash. The 2020 Cup Series champion is considered out indefinitely, with Hendrick Motorsports hoping to receive an injury waiver to retain his playoff eligibility upon his return.

He was replaced by short track veteran Josh Berry from JR Motorsports on Sunday. The Xfinity Series regular came home a distant 29th, two laps down, after limping the car home with what he believed was a mechanical issue.

“The second half of the race, we had an issue going on with the throttle or something because every time I was letting off, it was hanging wide-open,” Berry said of the No. 9 Chevrolet. “I was just trying to nurse it home and keep it out of trouble.”

This weekend’s sudden call-up was a strong opportunity for Berry, a veteran looking to prove his worth and keep rising up the NASCAR ladder. Berry entered with two Xfinity Series wins at Las Vegas, one in a substitute role for the injured Michael Annett in 2021, but had made just two prior Cup starts.

Sunday’s race didn’t go to plan, but there’s a chance Berry could be given more opportunities as Elliott heals. No replacement has been named moving forward at the time of writing.

As for the rest of the organization, they’ll continue on with the status quo. But Elliott’s teammates will miss him until he’s able to return.

“I speak for everyone in the fact that we miss Chase out here,” Byron said. “He’s a big contributor to feedback and our debriefs, and he’s a great race car driver. Has a lot to offer there.”

 

Good, Bad and Ugly

Good (And Bad): That Hat

The only thing bigger than the stroke of luck Byron caught in the closing laps was the gigantic hat he wore to victory lane.

Just look at that thing. What an absolute unit.

 

Good: The pit crew makes a difference

To give credit where it’s due, Byron’s No. 24 team deserves heavy praise for helping him turn Sunday’s race around.

With cooler temps – at least by Las Vegas standards – and high levels of grip, the Vegas Cup race put a premium on track position and clean air. The easiest way to make a pass for the lead was to beat the leader off pit road under caution.

Larson’s No. 5 crew had done just that to Byron early in Stage 3, getting the 2021 Cup Series champ out ahead of Byron before a restart with 78 laps to go. He had to work his way past Denny Hamlin, who led after a two-tire stop, but Larson was the lead car among the Hendrick contingent. He rose to the top spot shortly into the run and seemed poised to prevail until Aric Almirola brought out the caution inside of five laps remaining.

That led the field back to pit road and gave Byron’s crew a chance to reverse their fortune. A rapid two-tire stop helped Byron inch ahead of Larson at the pit exit line and he took over the lead among drivers that had stopped. Even better for Byron, only one driver, Truex, stayed out, meaning he would restart alongside the veteran for the lead with a clear advantage over his challengers.

Barring a mistake or issue for Byron, that stop was to be the difference maker. And it proved so, with Byron clearing Truex into Turn 3 on the restart and cruising to the victory in clean air.

Pit crews can sometimes be overshadowed over the course of a race weekend. Like roadies at concerts, their efforts often go unnoticed unless they make mistakes. But on Sunday, the No. 24 crew’s last pit stop made all the difference.

“I just needed to be about five feet further up leaving pit road than where we were to beat William and we would have won,” Larson said of his loss. “I’m proud of the effort, proud of the car. We executed pretty well all day.

“The 24’s pit stop was just better at the end.”

 

Bad: Truex’s gamble falls short

Hey, at least they gave it a shot.

Wins are the primary formula for success in the modern NASCAR Cup Series. Make it to victory lane and you can undo the championship cost of weeks of struggles in an instant. A victory effectively locks you into the playoffs, gives you bonus points and lets you rest easier over the course of the year.

So when a team has a chance to get one, a little gamble can be an easy sell.

Truex’s No. 19 team won the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum prior to the season, but the 2017 Cup champ hasn’t triumphed in a points race since 2021. When he sat fourth entering pit stops under a pre-overtime caution, crew chief James Small made the call to leave Truex out on-track in an effort to end the lengthy winless streak.

Had others made a similar gamble, there’s a chance the buffer could have been enough for Truex to prevail in clean air.

But unfortunately for Truex, he was the only one to stay out. Byron restarted alongside him and took the lead after the opening set of corners, leaving Truex to fade to seventh over the last lap in dirty air.

It was a bad break, but Truex didn’t mind the gamble.

“We just hoped we would get to the white (flag) and maybe they would crash,” Truex said. “We did OK the first lap. We held second there for almost a whole lap and got into (Turn) 1 in second after the white, so we were in pretty good shape there, but I got real tight in (Turns) 1 and 2 and got freight-trained down the backstretch.

“But all in all, it was a good gamble and a strong day by our Bass Pro Camry and all of our guys. At the end, we just took a gamble. We were going to run probably at best third or fourth and threw a Hail Mary and finished seventh, so not really a big deal there.”

Onto the next one.

 

Ugly: The Kyle Busch Show returns

New season, same show.

Kyle Busch made his first start for the new-look Kyle Busch Motorsports in Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series race. If anyone thought the change to Chevrolet would make a big difference for the Nevadan, they were mistaken.

After a competitive opening two stages, the two-time Cup champ stunk up the show when it mattered. He marched off to a 4.981-second victory that actually proved closer than the 7+-second margin he held at one point.

Busch thought that defending series champion Zane Smith could have given him a proper race, but that never materialized after Smith lost some ground on a restart and had to rally to second.

“There were a couple dicey moments in traffic—not too bad—but I would have loved to have raced with Zane,” Busch said. “They kind of got off strategy where we were able to cycle up , and we got clean air for most of the start of that last run.

“He came through the field and got to second, and we kind of maintained. If we’d have been able to race it out, it would have been a hell of a show. But all in all, just a great night here, to be able to win in Las Vegas again—and you’ve got to win the first to be able to win all three. Right?”

Busch didn’t ultimately win all three races. But he did what he does best on Friday night, making winning look easy – a beautiful sight for his fans and those that can appreciate domination, but a long night for any hoping for late excitement.

 

Good: An ode to the past

Journalist Matt Weaver gave the best description of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, calling it “a love letter to NASCAR’s core audience.”

Modern NASCAR is full of constant shifts of attention and excitement. There are stage battles, intense double-file restarts with the added twist of lane choice throughout the field and overtimes that can lead to late surprises in victory lane and the infield care center. The changes made to race formats over the past two decades have collectively created a general sense of chaos that’s given NASCAR numerous highlight-reel finishes and memorable moments.

But every now and then, despite the many changes, there’s an old-school finish. A race will end on a long run, the field will get spread out and success will depend on management of tires and traffic.

That’s how the Xfinity race in Las Vegas ultimately played out. Kaulig Racing newcomer Chandler Smith surged to a big lead, but struggled to hold the bottom as his Chevrolet tightened up on long runs. Daytona winner Austin Hill and JR Motorsports veteran Justin Allgaier chased Smith down as the laps ticked away while battling each other for second.

The gap shortened. The intensity built. Hill just kept Allgaier at bay, caught Smith heading to the white flag and dove under him as Smith failed to hold the bottom and opened the door for Hill to strike.

After erasing a lead of more than three seconds, Hill stole the lead and held on over the final lap to score his second win in three weeks. While he celebrated, his fellow Georgian, Smith, dropped to third and was left to come to terms with a breakthrough first win that had gone awry.

The result was a far cry from the overtime excitement to follow a day later. But it was the highlight of the weekend for longtime followers of the sport that remember when endings like that were more commonplace.

 

Good: Back on track

Returning to the site of his vicious retaliatory crash of Larson last fall, which led to a one-race suspension, Bubba Wallace brought the strong Las Vegas pace and avoided any controversy for his best result of the year.

The 23XI Racing star led all Toyota drivers with a fourth-place finish to notch his first top-10 of the season, righting the ship for his No. 23 team after a pair of DNFs in the opening two races.

Wallace was left wanting more at day’s end. But that’s a testament to the goals he and his team have after a strong 2022.

“Just couldn’t get the front end to work and we tried everything,” Wallace said. “We went the other way on air, went the opposite way on air and just could never figure it out so we have a lot of work to do for our mile-and-a-half stuff.

“Happy for our Columbia Toyota Camry TRD team. Never stop fighting and never give up. I almost came over the radio and was like, ‘Hey, good job, we finished sixth.’ Then the caution came out and I perked up again and got some.”

Series sophomore Justin Haley also gave cause for optimism on Sunday, finishing eighth in a run that harkened back to the sneakily strong results his Kaulig Racing team managed during last year’s playoffs.

“We had a really good long run car today and this is our Fontana car,” Haley said. “We’re one of like three teams, three individual cars that repaired our stuff and brought it this week. I’m proud of the effort and the grind. They hung a body in this thing in the snow in Fontana a few days ago.

“That’s pretty awesome for our little team. I appreciate Matt (Kaulig), Chris (Rice), and everyone at Leaf Filter. This was a good run for us, especially with the start of season we’ve had.”

 

Good: Continual consistency

Neither Daniel Suarez nor Corey LaJoie have made much noise this season. But the duo have each kicked off their campaigns with results that give their teams something to build on.

Suarez failed to lead a lap on Sunday, but finished a respectable 10th to give his No. 99 team three-consecutive top-10s to open the year. LaJoie was 10 spots back in 20th, but in doing so gave his Spire Motorsports squad its third top-20 result in as many races this season.

These results have both drivers punching above their usual position in the early season point standings. Suarez is up to fourth, 25 points back from his points-leading Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. LaJoie currently sits 18th, well above the 31st-place finish he ended last year with.

Will either of this duo hold onto their improved positioning? Perhaps not. But they’ve each started the year on track for career-best results.

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