Gamble pays off for Hendrick as Larson picks up win at Vegas, Bristol gets dirty

    Bill Lester, the last African American to run regular in NASCAR,  announced last week that he was looking to come out of retirement and race in the truck series at the Atlanta race. Lester ran in the trucks from 2000-2008 where he won three poles and finished with two top fives and seven top 10. After saying he needed more sponsorship to compete, Marcus Lemonis the CEO of Camping World stepped up with additional support.
    Bristol has brought in over 20,000 cubic yards of dirt to cover the asphalt for the upcoming special races. The prelim races will be called the Dirt Nationals and will have eight different divisions racing around the track. Kyle Busch, Brad Kesolewski, and Kyle Larson have already entered the Late Model division while Joey Logano and Matt Crafton are entered in the Open Modified Class. Austin Dillon and Corey LaJoie are entered in the Crate Late Model.The Cup drivers will not qualify for their positions in the race instead NASCAR will be using heats to determine the field and number of cars passed in the heat.
    Kyle Larson, in spite of the virus and being suspended last year by NASCAR, quickly showed his driving talent as he found the winner’s circle in just his fourth event as a Team Hendrick driver. In what was a more entertaining race than last week drivers didn’t wait to find the lead position, but right from lap one they were pushing the pedal. The leader of the race went back and forth numerous times as early on the lead car couldn’t pull away and put space between  them and the rest of the field. Chase Elliott spun out and took a top 15 finish in what had been a top 10 car all day. Brad Keselowski had a nice day and always seem liked he was going to take the lead and hold it but in the end, he just didn’t have the horses. Kyle Busch had a nice showing as he slowly re-emerged as a contender. Martin Truex Jr., who is usually a strong choice at a Vegas, just seemed to never get his car in shape to take the lead. The Larson victory left Hendrick only three wins away from overtaking Petty Enterprises with the most wins in NASCAR.
    In the Xfinity race, AJ Allmendinger, who drives for Dale Jr. ‘s team, came away with the win. Josh Berry, who drives dirt for Jr., finished seventh for the team and seems to be a pretty good addition to Jr.’s team of cars.  Daniel Hemric, who keeps trying to chase down that signature win, finished second on the day. Matt Snider, who won last week and was on the pole Saturday, had all kinds of trouble and ended up in 32 place.
    John Hunter Nemechek stepped down from the Cup series to drive in the Outdoor Truck series this year for Kyle Busch. It seems to have been a smart move. Nemechek held off his boss, Busch, over the last few laps to pick up his first win of the season. Grant Enfinger, who didn’t even have a ride entering this season after winning a few races last year, ended up in seventh place. Kentucky native Ben Rhodes was able to recover from mid- race problems and finish in the 10th spot.