"Starting up front is just the beginning” - Kyle Larson talks about the importance of great qualifying at Las Vegas

Last weekend’s WISE Power 400 winner Kyle Larson has secured the front row for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was out late in the 35-minute practice session for a flying lap and posted an average speed of 182.014 mph.

Driving the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Larson finished the qualifying rounds in 29.668 seconds. Speaking about the importance of starting positions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson said:

“I think it’s important at every race track; probably more important than I used to think. Last year, we got to run up front a lot. We had great pit stops and executed races very well to maintain that track position; where I maybe didn’t have that in the past. Having well-executed races and maintaining that, you get a sense for how much easier the races go by. You’re doing a lot less fighting and putting yourself in hairy situations and stuff like that.”

Larson said that starting the race up front is really important and added:

“Starting up front is just the beginning to that. Like last week, we had to go from the rear and it was a fight to get to about the middle portion of the second stage to where we could then try and maintain that. We had one hiccup on pit road and lost some spots again. But yeah, starting the race up front is, in my opinion, definitely really important.”

Christopher Bell, who finished second fastest (180.771 mph) on Saturday’s qualifying, will join Larson for the front row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, in terms of speed, Ryan Blaney finished third, followed by William Byron in fourth and Joey Logano completed the top five.

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Kyle Larson will defend his Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas

Kyle Larson, the defending Cup Series champion, has put in great performances in the 2022 season so far and there is no doubt he is the favorite to defend his last year’s Pennzoil 400 trophy.

Apart from that, the 29-year-old marks his 39th front row starting position in a Cup Series career. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it will be the eighth top-10 starting position for Larson in 12 races.

Hendrick Motorsports would like to continue the winning momentum at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Pennzoil 400. The race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 6, at 3:30 pm EST.