NASCAR insiders: Kyle Larson finishing 11th at Las Vegas is a 'huge win'

Many expected Kyle Larson to be in contention for another victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but his P11 finish might’ve actually been more impressive than dominating another race in Sin City, due to all the troubles the No. 5 team had over the weekend.

From bad pit stops to tough luck, Larson dealt with it all on Sunday, but he rebounded nicely on his way towards a borderline top ten finish, ending the afternoon +35 above the cut-line for the Championship 4.

After the dust settled in Sin City, NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi took some time to evaluate where Larson stands following his performance, and where the No. 5 team can go from here.

“Kyle Larson is +35. Now, Larson obviously had a much more eventful day, because he had to mount a major comeback, but he ends up finishing P11, which is a huge win, being two laps down,” Gluck explained. “… He’s okay, right? Like, he’s not amazing. He’s +35. But it sort of — it could’ve been a pretty terrible race for him, the way things were looking for a while, like two bad races in each of the first of the round.

“He’s been able to overcome that so far, but the No. 5 team kept their composure, and was able to at least salvage something out of it.”

Continuing, Bianchi believes Larson could contend for the win in both of the next two races, with the Cup Series heading to Homestead and Martinsville before the title-deciding race in Phoenix.

“Rare mistake on pit road. The No. 5 team statistically is actually one of the better teams on pit road. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They execute real well. They get their driver off pit road efficiently. This, however, was it. … They never were able to get track position after that point, and Larson said his car at the end of the race just wasn’t handling as well as he wanted it to,” Bianchi added. “Good news for him though, he finishes P11, which is much better than how he started the rounds at Atlanta and at Kansas. Then, you look at next week, he’s going to Homestead, which is where he’s really, really good.

“You have to feel really confident about his chances, not just to advance, but probably to win these next two weeks, even at Martinsville, where he’s good. Really atypical for them, but still, grind it out, and like you said Jeff, +35 points. That’s a good amount. Considering all the troubles that everyone else had, you’ve got to be happy with that.

Alas, Kyle Larson has been the top driver all season long in the Cup Series, and it would only be fitting if he captures his second title in 2024. He has to finish the job, but he has as good of a chance as any if he can lock himself into the Championship 4.