New Chevrolet Camaro leads the way in Las Vegas NASCAR test

A two-day organizational test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway concluded Thursday with Kyle Larson in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet posting the fastest overall speed, followed by Chevrolet driver Ryan Newman.

“I don’t get too involved in the changes they are making, but I felt like whenever we made our long runs, the stuff that we would do on our three and four-lap runs we were able to learn some stuff to be able to put together a good set-up for the long runs that we did,” Larson said.

“I was happy about that and felt like we had good speed, especially on the last long run I made. Our qualifying trim run we did was obviously really fast compared to everybody else here.

“You never know how it will be with everyone here, but I felt good about it and nice to get back in a stock car after a couple of months.”

In Thursday’s final session, Larson posted an average lap speed of 191.259 mph, followed closely by Newman (190.027 mph). Erik Jones, in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was third (190.007 mph).

“I felt like we got a good start with the new Camaro ZL1 and the guys did a good job,” Newman said of his Richard Childress Racing team. “It’s good to see a couple of Chevrolet’s, two or three Chevrolet’s up on the top.

“It wasn’t a true test to when 40 cars come back so we will go through our notes and see how well we can do with our homework.”

Rookie William Byron, who takes over Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 Chevrolet this season, said his first Cup series test was “awesome.”

“It’s been really a dream come true to get in one of these cars and have Hendrick Motorsports behind me it’s really cool,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun, it’s been a blast.

“Darian (Grubb, crew chief) has been really good. We have been able to focus with each other and try different things and just be able to learn and improve.”