Heading into the Shriners Children’s 500 this weekend, NASCAR Cup Series leader Kyle Larson will look to continue his impressive run into Arizona.
At the Pennzoil 400 last Sunday, Larson won his 24th career NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Neck-and-neck with Tyler Reddick, Larson was just able to cross the finish line and be victorious.
In doing so, he joined fellow Chevrolet drivers William Byron and Daniel Suárez who have all locked up playoff contention after winning during the 2024 regular season.
“I knew Tyler [Reddick] was going to be the guy to beat from the first stage,” Larson said via press release.“Thankfully, (I) was able to air-block him a couple of laps and get him tight… But all in all, such a great job by this Hendrick Cars Chevy team and just their execution, pit road, restarts — all that was great…Can’t ask for much more.”
Last year in Arizona, Larson clinched two top-five finishes and led 201 laps. Due to a late-race restart, however, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney past Larson who ended up third.
Blaney won the highly-coveted Bill France Cup and a NASCAR Cup Series Championship before at Phoenix Raceway. He has also finished in the top-five in Arizona since the Next-Gen era began.
As for the reigning Phoenix race champion Chastain, he has collected one win and three top-fives in the Valley.
Larson is currently ahead of Blaney in the standings in points, 118-110. Chastain is ranked fifth with 98.
This Sunday, March 10, these three will compete against each other along with NASCAR’s best as the Shriners Children’s 500 kicks off at 12:30 p.m. MST.