Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byron in position to capture the checkered flag in overtime.
Byron took the lead on the second-to-last lap of OT to put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.
Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Byron led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup seasons.
Larson appeared headed for victory when when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.
Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota choosing to stay out. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevy, came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex after the restart.
Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages for the first time in his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.
Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, will begin physical therapy Monday, his team owner Rick Hendrick told Fox Sports.
Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott has returned to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.
Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision would be made on who drives that car next weekend at Phoenix.
Logano, the defending Cup champion who won the Las Vegas race in October, hit the wall in in turn four on lap No. 183, ending his day. He was running three-wide with Brad Keselowski in the middle and Kyle Busch on the apron when Logano bumped into Keselowski, sending his Team Penske No. 22 Ford into the wall.
Bubba Wallace, who drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage.
The series shifts to Phoenix next weekend.
