LAS VEGAS – William Byron took the lead on the second-to-last lap of overtime to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas on Sunday and put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick Motorsports.
This was Byron’s fifth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season, and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Kyle Larson was .622 of a second.
The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron beating teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman. Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Byron led 176 laps.
Larson appeared headed for victory when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.
Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. choosing to stay out. Byron came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex on the restart.
Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet for the first time in his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.
There were four caution periods for a total of 26 laps. Only 18 of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Ross Chastain remains the championship leader after Las Vegas with a three-point advantage over second-place Alex Bowman.
SHR Race Finish:
● Kevin Harvick (Started 14th, Finished 9th / Running, completed 271 of 271 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 21st, Finished 16th / Running, completed 271 of 271 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 31st, Finished 23rd / Running, completed 270 of 271 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 20th, Finished 28th / Running, completed 269 of 271 laps)
SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (3rd with 108 points, 21 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (21st with 52 points, 77 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (31st with 29 points, 100 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (32nd with 28 points, 101 out of first)
Harvick earned his second top-10 of the season and his 14th top-10 in his series-leading 28th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas.
This was Harvick’s second straight top-10. He finished fifth last Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. He has not finished outside of the top-12 this season. This was his fourth straight top-15 at Las Vegas. Harvick finished ninth in September 2021 and 12th in the series two races at the track last year.
Harvick finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn a bonus point.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the United Rentals Work United 500k on Sunday, March 12 at Phoenix Raceway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
