Larson Drives to Dominating Victory at Bristol
All Five Team Chevy Playoff Drivers Advance to Round of 12
- Kyle Larson’s campaign to become a multi-time champion in NASCAR’s top division continues after a near dominating win in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway – claiming his fifth victory of the season and a ticket into the Round of 12.
- The triumph marked Chevrolet’s 12th victory of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season; the manufacturer’s 47th victory at Bristol Motor Speedway; and its 863rd all-time victory in NASCAR’s top division – all of which are series-leading feats.
- The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team proved to be a top contender throughout the elimination race weekend at the Tennessee high-banked half-mile. Unloading off the truck with speed, Larson quickly found his way to the top-three of the practice speed chart, going on to claim a front row starting spot for the 500-lap race. Taking the lead for the first time early in Stage One, the Chevrolet driver took his Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Camaro ZL1 to a sweep of the stages, ultimately tallying a race-high 462 laps led en route to the victory.
- The victory – Larson’s second at “The Last Great Colosseum” – marks his 28th all-time win in 359 career starts in NASCAR’s top division. The triumph also took Larson to the top position of the all-time wins list in the series’ Next Gen era, with the Chevrolet driver collecting his 12th victory in the Next Gen Camaro ZL1.
- All five Team Chevy playoff drivers remain in title contention, making the Bowtie brand the only manufacturer to advance all of its playoff drivers into the Round of 12. Alex Bowman rounded out a solid trio of races to open the postseason – collecting his first pole of the year, going on to claim a berth into the next round at the conclusion of Stage Two.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson
2nd Chase Elliott
9th Alex Bowman
10th Ross Chastain
WITH 29 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE:
Wins: 11
Poles: 9
Top-five finishes: 5
Top-10 finishes: 11
Stage wins: 19
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 1st
Did you know how dominating your car was, and how good the tire wear was from your crew chief Cliff Daniels?
“Yeah, I mean I knew I had a great car from the start of practice, but everything has to go right. You just don’t dominate like that without executing the whole weekend. We practiced well and qualified on the front row, which was super important. We got the lead early on, and leading these Next Gen races is really beneficial because you can set your own pace and manage your stuff, especially here at Bristol because it allows you to work the bottom on the long run. We had a phenomenal No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy. Just can’t say enough about the team. Cool to get win number five on the year and hopefully there is more to come.”
How special is this tonight?
“Yeah, super special. It’s always special to share moments with your son, and also when Rick Hendrick is here. He doesn’t get to many of these anymore, so I have been fortunate enough to win a couple of them when he has been here this year and it’s fun to see the happiness on his face. He has built such an extremely great team and organization throughout HENDRICKCARS.COM, Hendrick Automotive Group, Hendrick Motorsports and everything he is involved with. So, just very, very blessed to be with him.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 2nd
What more did your team need to catch the No. 5?
“I felt like our car was really, really good, and I was proud of the effort and proud of the execution all night. Kyle (Larson) did a better job than I did to get through traffic and that was the difference. He got a few cars gap on me, and there was one point in time where we were able to make (up) some time. I pushed really hard when he was hung up with the 19. Once he got by the 19, it was going to be tough. There were always three or four cars in between us and by the time I got there, we were later in the run and it just gets tough. He did a great job, and credit to his team and to Kyle, as well. Proud of our effort; felt like we were right there in the mix and had a great shot at it. We keep doing that, and we’ll be OK.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 ZHP CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 17th
It wasn’t the run you were looking for, but you advanced into the Round of 12.
“Yeah, that was the goal, for sure. It was definitely good to have a clean night; not have any issues and advance. Really proud of that. It was definitely tough for us. Really from lap three or four, the balance just wasn’t good. We really struggled, but the No. 24 Z HP Chevy team worked hard all night to try and get something out of it, and we were able to run all of the laps and move on.”
Going to Kansas, are you optimistic about the first race of the Round of 12?
“Yeah, for sure. We’ll be ready to go there and just focus on that. Now that we’re through this round, we can really focus forward and I’m looking forward to that.”
DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 DORITOS / MOUNTAIN DEW BY FOOD CITY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 19th
“Not a bad night for this No. 31 Mountain Dew Doritos team. We fired off well and got the free pass to get back on the lead lap a couple of times. Overall, I think we showed some decent speed throughout the weekend and a huge improvement from the spring race here.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 9th
A top-10 at Bristol and you guys advanced. Did it change the race for you in any way when that happened?
“No, honestly the racetrack just rubbered up and we progressively got worse as more rubber laid down, I felt like. Just proud of this No. 48 Ally Camaro team. We did what we needed the whole first round of the playoffs, but also we want to be better and continue that through the next round. Missed it a little today when it rubbered up, but other than that, really solid points day for us, and we’ll keep at it.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 31st
You survived and advanced to the next round of the playoffs. How did that feel?
“It feels good. It wasn’t pretty, but we knew since practice yesterday that the car wasn’t competitive. It just didn’t have a lot of speed. Luckily, our team did a great job in Atlanta and Watkins Glen, and we were able to build a points cushion. It wasn’t a lot of fun, but it’s good to make it through.”
How does the next round of the playoffs stack up for you and the No. 99 team?
“I think we’re going to be pretty good. I’m really excited for Kansas. I think we can competitive there. A superspeedway, as we all know, anything can happen. And a road course in there, always puts a smile on my face.”
