Chevrolet Ncs at North Wilkesboro: Kyle Larson, Chevrolet Drives to Dominating Nascar All-Star Race Win

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Cup Series News

·       The victory marked Larson’s third career triumph in the NASCAR All-Star Race – also extending Hendrick Motorsports’ NASCAR All-Star Race win record to a series-best 11 victories.

 

 

·       Larson brought Chevrolet to the manufacturer’s 21st NASCAR All-Star Race win – the most in series’ history.

 

 

·       Larson now ties Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for second on the all-time NASCAR All-Star Race wins list with three victories in the non-points paying race.

 

 

·       Chevrolet led every lap of the 200-lap NASCAR All-Star Race with race winner Larson leading a race-high 129 laps and polesitter Daniel Suarez leading 56 laps.

 

·       Kyle Larson swept the North Wilkesboro Speedway race weekend, also taking the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST to the win in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. 
 

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:

POS.   DRIVER

1st      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

5th      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

7th      Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Motorplex Camaro ZL1

8th      Erik Jones, No. 43 STP Camaro ZL1

 

 

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:

POS.  DRIVER

1st      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)

2nd     Bubba Wallace (Toyota)

3rd      Tyler Reddick (Toyota)

4th      Chase Briscoe (Ford)

5th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)

 

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 28, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

POST-RACE QUOTES:

 

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

Finished: 1st

Kyle, you swept the weekend. This weekend, this moment and this racetrack – what does this one mean?

“I can’t even tell you what it means. This is my third All-Star win and my third different track. In a historical place like this, you guys and the crowd made this weekend so awesome. We could feel the atmosphere all weekend.

 

So much fun there. That was an old-school whipping for sure. We had a great car on the long run there and was just thinking for sure there was going to be a caution. I got out to a big lead and I could see everybody’s cars were driving like crap in front of me, but I cannot thank this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team enough. We were awful all weekend. In practice, I was like the worst on the 30-lap average, and went backwards in a heat race yesterday. You obviously had some strategy work out there in the beginning, but we drove from dead last to the lead and checked out by 12 or 13 seconds. Then just could pace myself there that last run.

 

What an amazing car. Everything that my car did bad on Friday and Saturday did great today. Again, thanks to the 5 team, Cliff Daniels (crew chief), Cal Stewart (engineer), too. Cal Stewart is our engineer. We bust his balls all the time because every time he’s at the track, something bad happens. This one is for him. I told him the other day, he said he’s going to like five of the next six. I’m like, well, we’re going to win five of the next six at least, so here we go.”

 

 

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

Finished: 5th

You’ve raced other cars here. How did this race compare to what you thought it was going to be bringing a Cup race back to North Wilkesboro Speedway?

“Based on what we saw in practice on Friday, I thought it was about what we were expecting from there. It was pretty anticlimactic; I would say for the most part. But Kyle (Larson), Cliff (Daniels) and the No. 5 team did a great job and really set the pace there once they took tires at the start and controlled the event from there. These races are hard to win. They’re not always going to be barn burners, side-by-side, banging door finishes. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re still hard to win and that should always be celebrated.

 

I thought we made our No. 9 NAPA Chevy better throughout the night with the one pit stop we made, so I’ll take it.”

TEAM CHEVY RACE HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Daniel Suarez and the No. 99 Trackhouse Motorplex Camaro ZL1 team was off to a strong start to the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend – placing second overall in the Pit Crew Competition and winning Heat One to take the pole position for the main event. 

 

  • With only 10 laps in the books, Chase Elliott was already noted as the top mover of the race – moving up seven positions to seventh-place. 

 

  • Varying strategy down pit road at an early race caution on lap 15, a handful of cars opted to come down pit road for the first round of pit stops of the day. Crew chief Cliff Daniels called Kyle Larson down pit road for a four tire and fuel stop from the 20th position. Larson endured a speeding penalty, forcing the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team to restart from the rear of the field.

 

  • A fresh set of tires paid dividends for Larson with the Team Chevy driver able to power his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 up the field  and 4fultimately taking the lead on lap 55. 

 

  • Race leader Larson brought the field to the competition caution on lap 100 – pacing the field with a 12.57 second lead over second and lapping the field up to the 16th position. 

 

  • Larson brought his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 down pit road during the competition caution for a fresh set of four tires and field. He chose the inside lane at the choose cone to lead the field to the green with 90 laps to go.

 

  • The second-half of the race went caution free with Larson leading the field to the checkered flag to take the win in the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race.

GM PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 82