1. The Good: Kyle Larson wins at Las Vegas
Kyle Larson held off the field in the closing laps of the Penzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and guaranteed himself a spot in the 2021 postseason. Larson took the lead for the final time during the restart on lap 238 and managed to run away from the field for the seventh win of his Cup Series career. Las Vegas native, Kyle Busch, meanwhile, finished third.
It feels good. I guess I didn t know if I d ever have an opportunity to win a NASCAR race again,” Larson told reporters.
The victory comes after NASCAR banned Larson in 2020 for using a racially insensitive slur during a Livestream, leaving his future in serious doubt. However, Larson wouldn’t let it be the end, and he underwent sensitivity training and before eventually being reinstated by NASCAR. Hendrick Motorsports later signed him to drive the #5 Chevrolet for the iconic team.
2. The bad: Chase Elliott finishing 13th at Las Vegas
Chase Elliott might be the defending Cup Series champion, but he certainly didn’t look like one after Sunday’s race at Las Vegas. In fact, between wrecking in the final stage of the race and only recovering to finish 13th, it’s obvious that there is something wrong with Elliott. Furthermore, he finished 14th last weekend at Homestead Miami, meaning that Elliott might not have a strong enough mile and half program this year. It feels like the young defending champion just doesn’t have the same swagger he did last year.
Keep in mind that Elliott hasn’t had a top-ten finish since his second-place finish at Daytona International Speedway, which was almost a month ago. He also failed to nab a win at the Daytona International Speedway road course, breaking his streak of road course victories and putting his season in even more of a tailspin.
3. The ugly: Bubba Wallace’s season
It’s no secret that 23XI Racing had high hopes for Bubba Wallace heading into the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and it seemed like the young driver was ready to deliver on his promises. Unfortunately for Wallace Jr, his season reads more like a Shakespearean tragedy than the triumph it was initially supposed to be, leaving some to wonder if it is time for him to press the panic button or not.
It all started at Daytona International Speedway, where Bubba Wallace Jr managed to become the first African American driver to lead the Daytona 500, but finished 17th after a crash left him unable to continue. His next race was at the Daytona International Speedway road course, which resulted in another subpar day for Wallace. When all was said and done, he finished 26th at the road course, dropping him from 7th to the 13th in the standings. Everyone thought his numbers would improve when NASCAR made it to their cookie-cutter tracks, though.
That didn’t end up being the case. Wallace would finish 22nd at Homestead Miami Speedway after only leading 2 laps due to pit cycles. Not only did the results at Homestead show just how far off the young driver was from 23XI’s affiliate team, Joe Gibbs Racing, it also raised serious doubts about his chances of turning things around. Things only got worse at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week, where he finished 28th, dropping him to 20th in points.
It’s almost certainly time for Bubba Wallace to hit the panic button on his career. If he can’t win in top-level equipment provided by Joe Gibbs Racing, there is almost no point in him being in the car.
In all honesty, it is almost impossible to know what is going on here and what will happen next. It is clear, though, that Wallace needs to find a way to justify his ride in the coming months or risk being out of a job again. I
