Hendrick Teammates Finish Inside Top Six

Kyle Larson and William Byron at the Inaugural Clash at the Coliseum

 

 

 

On Sunday, all four Hendrick Motorsports raced their new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s for the first time at the Clash at the Coliseum that saw Kyle Larson and William Byron bring home top-six finishes in the annual exhibition race that traditionally kicks off the season before the DAYTONA 500.

 

“It was an awesome experience all around,” Larson said after posting a fifth-place finish. “First race with the new car. This event was really neat. It seemed like a great atmosphere. I’m not able to ever sit in the stands and watch other races and I got to watch a heat race and the last chance qualifiers. It seemed like a blast and I hope we can do more of this.”

 

“It was a fun event and I think the fans got a good show,” said sixth-place finisher Byron. “It was all about track position though, similar to Martinsville. We tried a couple times on restarts to pick up an extra position here and there, but we were just too tight the first half of the race to keep it. The guys worked hard, not just today, but all weekend to improve the Valvoline Chevy. We learned a lot with these new cars.”

 

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.Com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• FINISHED: 5th  
• How It Happened: 
• 
  • Larson’s second-place finish in his heat race secured him a spot in the 150-lap main event. 
• • The Elk Grove, California, native rolled off eighth and advanced two spots to sixth before the race’s first caution at lap 53. Larson restarted third but fell two spots before racing was halted for a scheduled break at the hallway point. 
• • Once racing resume, Larson jumped to second after going three-wide at lap 77. He fell back to third at lap 100 and held that spot for the ensuing 30-plus laps before falling to sixth with 12 laps to go. Larson put himself inside the top five in the closing laps, finishing fifth in this year’s Clash event.

 

William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• FINISHED: 6th  
• How It Happened: 
• 
  • Byron started the exhibition race from the seventh position, thanks to his second-place finish in the heat race earlier that afternoon. He raced between the sixth and seventh positions for the race’s first 53 laps but restarted fifth after the first caution period. 
• • The Charlotte, North Carolina maintained the fifth spot over the next 12 circuits before advancing one spot to fourth when the break at the halfway point occurred. 
• • Byron restarted second once engines refired for the second half of the race, but three-wide racing immediately moved him to fourth. He jostled between the fourth and fifth positions for much of the second half and ultimately slipped one spot to sixth before crossing the finish line.

 

Thank you, Los Angeles. You rolled out the red carpet.

The final standings.
5️⃣: @KyleLarsonRacin
6️⃣: @WilliamByron
1️⃣1️⃣: @chaseelliott pic.twitter.com/T6yON7f4Oj

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) February 7, 2022

 

 

source: Hendrick Motorsports