HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Larson is bored with his weekends at Homestead-Miami Speedway ending in disappointment.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has received a NASCAR Cup Sequence race and Xfinity Sequence race in his profession on the South Florida observe, however he principally simply remembers the heartbreaks there, which not too long ago got here in a disappointing Thirteenth-place end in final 12 months’s playoff race.
This 12 months, Larson has already secured a victory on the 1.5-mile observe, the place he is competing within the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck races. Larson rallied from a late-race spinout to drag off a comeback win within the Truck Sequence on Friday, and he’s eyeing extra.
Kyle Busch is the only driver to brush a triple-header weekend, engaging in the feat at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2010 and 2017.
“To hitch him in one thing like that might be fairly particular,” Larson mentioned. “Greater than something I simply love the chance to race. I really like Homestead. … I felt prefer it was a prefect weekend to run all three. And to win all three can be nice.”
Larson has 5 top-five finishes in 11 Cup begins in his profession at Homestead — two driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He’s led probably the most laps (626) of any energetic driver, and his 12 stage wins within the Subsequent Gen automotive is a collection greatest. No different driver has greater than 5 stage wins.
Busch mentioned Larson has shot at a sweep given how nicely he drives in Homestead, which was within the playoff rotation the previous three years however has now been moved to a regular-season race.
“I did it first,” Busch quipped, earlier than including, “That is his place. He’s identified to be tremendous good right here. Tremendous snug working the wall, so that you get a number of profit from that.”
Larson completed fourth in 2021 and received the race in 2022 however left pissed off the previous two years.
He was out of the race at Lap 214 in 2023 after slamming into the pit road barriers attempting to overhaul Ryan Blaney for the lead. Final 12 months, Larson’s successful likelihood ended when he spun whereas racing Blaney for the lead with underneath 20 laps to go.
“I really feel like each time I am going there (to Homestead) you allow dissatisfied since you really feel like you might have the most effective automotive or truck, and issues don’t work out,” Larson mentioned. “Whether or not it’s errors on my finish or ill-timed cautions mixed with a hiccup on pit highway, or no matter late within the race, and you find yourself dropping.
“Actually all however perhaps two or three races at Homestead I felt like we had the most effective automotive, greatest likelihood of successful, and we don’t have the wins to indicate for it.”
Rule clarification
NASCAR despatched out a clarification to race groups in all three nationwide collection on pitting in one other workforce’s pit stall after Christopher Bell stopped within the pit stall of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe to have a unfastened left wheel tightened throughout the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas final weekend.
If a car will get service in one other workforce’s pit stall to repair a security concern, it should obtain a flag standing penalty, NASCAR mentioned, they usually’ll both should restart on the tail of the sphere or obtain a pass-through for pitting exterior the assigned pit field.
The left-front wheel was unfastened on Bell’s No. 20 Toyota when he was exiting pit highway final week. If the wheel got here off after he exited pit highway, Bell would have been penalized two laps and had two pit crew members suspended for the subsequent two races. He stopped in Briscoe’s stall for service as an alternative, was dinged for pitting exterior the field and solely needed to restart in the back of the sphere. He completed twelfth.
NASCAR listed tightening unfastened wheels, eradicating a gasoline can or a wedge wrench as examples of questions of safety.
Hamlin’s new sponsor
Joe Gibbs Racing introduced Tuesday that the group signed an settlement with Progressive Insurance coverage to sponsor Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry in 18 NASCAR Cup Sequence races this season, beginning with Sunday’s race in Homestead.
Progressive’s title and blue branding will probably be displayed on Hamlin’s automotive and race go well with, and his crew will put on Progressive branded gear.
“It’s good for them (Joe Gibbs Racing) to have an anchor associate,” Hamlin mentioned, “and definitely for my followers’ sake, they’re going to have the ability to establish me week-to-week. And I feel that’s one thing that definitely is essential. So feeling out these 18 races goes to be a giant deal for myself and Gibbs all year long.”
On the pole
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman received the pole for Sunday’s race whereas driving a No. 48 Toyota that promotes the 3-on-3 girls’s basketball league Unmatched, which simply wrapped up its inaugural season in Miami.
It’s the sixth profession pole for Bowman, who was adopted by Josh Berry — the winner at Las Vegas final weekend — Noah Gragson, Briscoe and William Byron.
Odds and ends
Larson (+375) is the BetMGM Sportsbook favourite, adopted by Tyler Reddick (+600). Larson’s 1,286 whole miles led on the 1.5-mile tracks is sort of double that of another driver. Bell is second with 614. … Reddick received the race final 12 months, whereas Hamlin leads energetic drivers with three wins (2009, ’13, ’20).
