NASCAR results, highlights: Kyle Larson sweeps the day at Las Vegas, holding off Christopher Bell in tight finish

There was simply no answer for Kyle Larson on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, held off Christopher Bell at the finish and won the South Point 400, scoring the maximum points possible by virtue of winning Stages 1 and 2 as well. Larson, who started outside the front row passed Bell on lap 3 and again on lap 40 and, save for some pit stop cycling, did not look back. Bell was eating into Larson’s advantage in the waning laps, but couldn’t pull even.

Larson made the save of the season on lap 141 as he got sideways of Turn 2 and the right-rear quarter-panel scraped the wall. Larson’s crew determined the car could continue and then were gifted a caution a few laps later when Alex Bowman pinballed off the outside and inside walls, bringing out the yellow. That allowed Larson to change tires in case he had a right-rear going down.

Larson can now take two weeks to focus on gaming out the Championship 4 race at Phoenix on Nov. 4.

South Point 400 results

1. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

4. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

5. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

6. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

7. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

8. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

9. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

10. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

11. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

12. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

13. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

14. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

15. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

16. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

17. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

18. Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

19. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

20. Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford

21. A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

22. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

23. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

24. Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

26. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

27. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

28. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

29. J.J. Yeley (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

30. Brennan Poole (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

31. B.J. McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford

32. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

33. Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

34. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

35. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

36. Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

Larson sweeps first two stages

Kyle Larson has swept the first two stages in Las Vegas and is eyeing the sweep.

Similar to the first stage, Larson took four fresh tires in a yellow-flag pit stop toward the end of the stage and used the fresh rubber to overtake drivers in front who took two. Moments before his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman brought out the caution flag with a hard smack of the wall, Larson himself got way loose out of Turn 2 and scraped the wall with his right-rear quarter-panel.

Luckily the damage was minimal and a life-saver yellow flag came out.

Larson, Bell dominate Stage 1

Kyle Larson won the first stage of the South Point 400 as he and pole-sitter Christopher Bell dominated the stanza. Larson, who had just pitted for four fresh tires, passed Bell after a restart on lap 72. Bell, who took two tires, won the race off of pit road ahead of Tyler Reddick and Larson, but Larson opted for the outside line on the restart, lining up next to Bell the same way they started the race.

Erik Jones brought out the first caution of the day on lap 65 when his right-rear tire blew.

Earlier on, Larson pitted from third place on lap 33, 1.1 seconds behind Bell. Bell’s team opted to leave him out six more laps and by the time he got off pit road, he was 5.5 seconds behind Larson. Lapped traffic allowed Bell to whittle that lead down to two 2.2 seconds by lap 50.

South Point 400 TV/streaming schedule

All times Eastern

Saturday
12:35-1:20 p.m.: Practice (USA, NBC Sports app)
1:20-2:30 p.m.: Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports app)

Sunday
2-2:30 p.m.: Pre-race show (NBC, NBC Sports app)
2:30-6 p.m.: South Point 400 (NBC, NBC Sports app)

South Point 400 details

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval) in unincorporated Clark County, Nevada
Banking: Turns – 20 degrees | Front and backstretches – 9-12 degrees
Length: 267 laps for 400.5 miles
Stage lengths: Stage 1 – 80 laps | Stage 2 – 85 laps | Stage 3 – 102 laps
2022 winner: Joey Logano (22), Team Penske

South Point 400 qualifying results

1. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

3. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

4. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

6. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

7. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

8. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

9. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

10. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

11. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

12. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

13. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

14. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

15. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

16. Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

17. Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

18. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

19. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

20. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

21. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

22. A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

23. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

24. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

25. Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

26. J.J. Yeley (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

27. Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

28. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

30. B.J. McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford

31. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

32. Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford

33. Brennan Poole (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

34. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

35. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

36. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Top drivers and best bets for the South Point 400

After A.J. Allmendinger became the first non-playoff driver to win in the 2023 postseason, the top five favorites to win this week, according to BetMGM, are in the Round of 8 field. William Byron has won the most races of any Cup driver in 2023 (six), including the spring race at Las Vegas on March 5, but his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson is the overall favorite.

Best odds to win
• Kyle Larson +400
• William Byron +600
• Denny Hamlin +600
• Martin Truex Jr. +800
• Tyler Reddick +900

Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote earlier in the week on the odds and, outside of the favorites, recommends looking at Chris Buescher (+1400) and Chase Elliott (+1600) for mid-tier plays. If you fancy a long shot, Bromberg likes the retiring Kevin Harvick at 40-to-1 as the veteran has finished in the top 10 in half of his starts at Las Vegas.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings

1. William Byron – 4,041* (+20)
2. Martin Truex Jr. – 4036 (+15)
3. Denny Hamlin – 4032 (+11)
4. Kyle Larson – 4024 (+3)
_________________________________ Cut line
5. Chris Buescher – 4,021 (-3)
6. Christopher Bell – 4,016 (-8)
7. Tyler Reddick – 4,016 (-8)
8. Ryan Blaney – 4,014* (-10)

South Point 400 entry list

Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Brennan Poole (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
J.J. Yeley (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
B.J. McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

South Point 400 weather

The forecast calls for sunny conditions with high temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s. The lack of cloud cover will elevate the track temperature, which should shorten pit windows as tires will wear more quickly. Don’t be surprised if the eventual winner comes from deep in the field as the Xfinity Series rejoins as a support series this weekend — that should mean greater track evolution throughout the weekend as more rubber is laid down.