NASCAR Barometer: Larson Bags Early-Season Win

Kyle Larson pushed his way forward late in Sunday's WISE Power 400, making himself the car to beat in the closing miles. His initial lead was erased by a late caution, but he made the most of his restart to maintain position at the front and drive to his first win of 2022. The early victory is the first step in his attempt to successfully defend his 2021 championship. He's now assured a spot in the playoffs and some of that early pressure will be off of his shoulders. All focus will be forward now as he focuses on preparing for that season-ending gauntlet. However, Hendrick Motorsports will now want to ensure that the rest of Larson's teammates secure their spots in the championship fight, too. While the team has shown speed in the first two outings, being able to finish races has been a challenge. 

Hendrick and the rest of the garage will continue their search for consistency with their new equipment this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This will be the second of a three-race span spent on the West Coast, making it difficult for teams to make significant changes to their cars as their so far away from their race shops. Larson and Denny Hamlin won the two Las Vegas races last season, and Larson's win last week could make him the early favorite at the first 1.5-mile oval stop of the year.

UPGRADE

Kyle Larson – Larson was one of a number of cars to start Sunday's race at the back of the pack after making unapproved adjustments when the team discovered ignition problems. Larson quickly moved forward, however, and finished fifth in both of the opening stages. From there it was a charge to the front as he began a battle for the lead with less than 50 laps remaining. Once out front, he stretched his lead and looked set for a comfortable run to the finish before a caution upset that plan. The resulting battles with Daniel Suarez and Austin Dillon showed Larson was too tough to hold back, and Larson drove to his second win at the track and his first of the 2022 season, which puts him into the playoffs for an attempt to defending his 2021 championship.

Austin Dillon – While Dillon did not lead any laps in Sunday's race, he rose to the front and was a factor in the outcome. He and teammate Tyler Reddick's speed throughout the race were an important follow up to their strong showings last week at Daytona. The team has an early edge on getting things right with this new car, and Dillon has been able to put that knowledge to good use. His runner-up finish in California moved him into the playoff standings, a spot he'll hope to solidify with an early-season victory. Dillon's competitiveness in the first two races is a good sign that he can outperform expectations at Las Vegas, too. He has two top-five finishes from 13 starts there and led seven laps at the track last fall when he finished 13th.

Daniel Suarez – Sunday's fourth-place finish will be a big boost to Suarez as he heads to the next two races of NASCAR's early season trip out West. The Trackhouse Racing Team showed potential last season and is starting 2022 by showing that they plan to compete for wins. Suarez was close to a victory in just the second race of the season before a slight wobble caused a brush with the wall. He soldiered on and captured his first top-five of the year, and with it moved into the playoff positions in the early standings. Suarez has just one top-10 finish at Las Vegas, but fantasy players should have more confidence in him this week. He is racing well, and his team is giving him a competitive car. Suarez should be one to watch this week.

Tyler Reddick – Reddick launched to the front early in Saturday's WISE Power 400 and went on to win the opening stage and carried that momentum right through to the second stage victory as well. The final stage didn't go as planned after he lost a left rear tire heading into the first turn and then was collected by William Byron. The damage ruined Reddick's race after he had spent 90 laps out front pacing the field. Despite the trouble, Reddick's early speed was a statement for Richard Childress Racing who appears to have a good early handle on this new car. If they are able to maintain this early advantage and get some luck, they could be contenders for race wins. Reddick has one top-10 from four Las Vegas starts, which came in last fall's race when he led five laps. 

Kevin Harvick – It looked like last week's visit to Fontana was going to be a long one for Harvick after the former champion lost control and made contact with the wall on his first lap on track. The team assessed the damage and made the decision to make repairs rather than shift Harvick to the organization's only spare car. Harvick started the race 32nd due to the repairs but ended the race with a top-10 finish. After finishing 30th in the Daytona 500, overcoming the weekend's initial trouble was a big confidence booster. Harvick has struggled the last few seasons but started to find top-fives only after being eliminated from championship contention last season. Sunday's top-10 will be an important step forward as the team looks to regain that form in early 2022.

DOWNGRADE

Kyle Busch – Busch dealt with handling issues early in Sunday's race, and ultimately lost control early in the first stage and spun to bring out the first caution of the race. Things only went downhill from there, as the car then began suffering issues from overheating. An extended stay on pit road to help resolve that issue put him further behind, and those issues were enough to put him out of contention for the victory before the race even hit the halfway mark. The Joe Gibbs Racing cars will have to address their woes in this short week ahead of going racing again on the opposite side of the country. It might get better for them, though.  Busch won at Las Vegas way back in 2009 and finished third in both races at the track last season. 

William Byron – While en route to what looked like a certain top-10 finish, Byron then got loose trying to avoid Tyler Reddick. That little wobble sent him up the track and hard into Reddick's car, which was limping around the turn with a flat rear tire. The contact was heavy enough to knock Byron completely out of the race. It had been shaping up to be a positive afternoon for Chevrolet, but that incident took out two of their strongest competitors. Next week is another opportunity for Byron to right the ship, though. He has two top-10 finishes from eight Las Vegas visits and led 32 laps in the two stops there last season, picking up an eighth-place finish in the spring race.

Chase Elliott – Elliott recovered from a spin in qualifying to be in position to race for the win late in Sunday's visit to Auto Club Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver failed to score any stage points but led 12 laps early in the race. While moving forward again, an untimely block by teammate Larson caused Elliott to scrape the wall. That incident set off a downward spiral for the No. 9 that saw him spin and finish the race two laps behind the leaders. Aside from Larson's win, it was a troublesome day for the Hendrick cars, and Elliott may feel the worst considering his trouble started with contact from a teammate. The season is still early, however, and Elliott finished second in his last trip to Las Vegas, but can they move past their early bad luck?

Alex Bowman – Bowman's start to 2022 continued to be a rough one in Fontana. He started Sunday's race 14th and did manage to earn stage points with a sixth-place finish in the first segment. However, late in the race Bowman suffered an accident that sent him to pit road for repairs and finished the day a lap down to the leaders in 25th. With two finishes outside of the top 20 in the first two races, Bowman is already looking at an uphill battle to move into playoff contention. He sits 25th in points and has suggested that limited practice this season will be a tough challenge to overcome with the new car. Time is on his side, though, with a long season yet to come. At Las Vegas he has one top-five and two top-10s from 10 starts.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Erik Jones – Jones was one of the drivers not to suffer a spin or crash in Saturday's qualifying and found himself on the front row for Sunday's race. That speed was no illusion either. Once the race got started, he ran more laps in the top five than he did in the entirety of last season. He led 18 total laps and was in the mix to fight for the victory on the final restarts of the race. In the end he finished an impressive third and sends a signal through the garage that Richard Petty Motorsports made impressive steps forward over the winter and could be a regular feature at the front early this season. Jones has three top-10 finishes from nine starts at Las Vegas. He started on pole there in 2018 and finished 10th last spring.