Asterisk Mark Report – Las Vegas (#2 2022)
Christopher Bell – Christopher Bell had a rocket last fall at Las Vegas but his race wasn’t incident free and he finished an asterisk mark 34th. In the race, Bell started 7th, finished 4th in Stage #1, had a slow stop during the Stage #2 caution which dropped him outside the top ten and was running in 9th shortly before his demise in the Wallace/Larson crash where he was an innocent victim. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked #1, having fielded the fastest car in segment #1 and segment #2. If Bell’s race would’ve been incident free, I think he was likely a top five contender.
Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson is one of the best at Las Vegas and in 5 of his last 10 races he’s finished in the top 3. In only one race over that stretch did he finish outside the top 12, and that was of course last fall when Bubba Wallace went kamikaze on him which led to his 35th. In the race, Larson started 14th, finished 5th in Stage #1 but then early in Stage #2 while battling for 5th he had his incident with Wallace which ended his afternoon. If Larson’s afternoon would’ve been incident free, I have no doubt he was a top five contender.
Austin Cindric – Austin Cindric was a top ten contender last fall at Las Vegas, but his afternoon went south in the last Stage. In the race, Cindric finished 6th in Stage #1, 9th in Stage #2 but then in the final Stage on lap 207 while running in 9th, he got into the wall, slowed on the track and then came in for an unexpected pit stop which led to his 29th. In the three segments prior to his problem, Cindric had speed rankings of 3rd, 11th and 7th.
