Kyle Larson hopes to score his first Daytona victory. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – While Kyle Larson’s track record at Daytona may not be sparkling, he’s been a factor at “The World Center of Racing” in the past.
Perhaps he’s taken to the late Buddy Baker’s advice to Rusty Wallace, a NASCAR Hall of Famer who struggled at the superspeedways.
“As long as you feel badly about this place, you’ll never win it,” Baker once said to Wallace ahead of the 1999 Daytona 500.
Although Wallace did not win that year’s “Great American Race,” he wound up leading the most laps, 104, before finishing eighth.
Larson’s Daytona 500 bid may have been fruitless earlier this year. However, he was dominant during the spring Talladega race, leading 32 laps en route to a fourth place result.
Ahead of Saturday night’s 400-miler at Daytona, Larson described a lap around Daytona as the leader and in the middle of a snarling pack.
Larson doesn’t mind the high pressure stakes of racing at Daytona. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“Well, in open air, any of you could do it,” Larson said with some laughter. “In the middle of the pack, it gets really hectic and your car doesn’t necessarily do its own thing, but you can feel the air more (like) the disturbance of the air.
“You can feel runs and you feel runs stall out a lot. When you get out to the lead, you feel like you are going really slow, even though you are going just as fast as the guys behind you. When you are in the middle pack, you feel like you are going fast. It’s a lot quieter out front, but it’s just when you get out front, your car obviously handles a lot better with clean air on it.”
Likewise, the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California provided a direct perspective about leading the pack at Daytona, a somewhat less stressful change of pace.
“You are not really looking out the windshield as much and you are looking in the rear view mirror a lot of the time,” he observed. “I haven’t seen the lead on a superspeedway very often, but it’s definitely a little quieter and less going on out front and like I said, your car handles better.”
Handling proves as essential as finding the right drafting partners at over 200 mph. A good, fast car can only carry a driver like Larson so far, particularly with driving to the front with as close to neutral conditions as possible.
Crew chief Cliff Daniels will have a bit of a quagmire prior to the start of Saturday night’s race with qualifying cancelled due to inclement weather on Friday evening.
Despite having a large database of notes to reference, Larson and his No. 5 team hope the car is as adjustable as possible depending on the track conditions.
Fortunately, Larson is used to high pressure situations. He’s got a year under his belt with the show up and race weekend format.
Moreover, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Much like his Team Chevy counterpart, Daniel Suárez, he balances the pressures as well as he drives in about any racecar.
It’s a race to second place for Larson and company. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“For a superspeedway race…..I don’t really get too emotional anyway, so that’s not a problem for me,” he said. “Staying focused sometimes and making sure you are trying to make the right moves is tough to do a lot of times because runs are happening quick.
“The gaps are really small that you are trying to get into. Trying to stay focused on risk versus reward but also trying to position yourself for the end of the race is important.”
With the regular season concluding at Daytona, Larson has plentiful rewards to consider with vying for the second position in points ahead of the Playoffs.
It’s shuffle up and deal at Daytona for Larson. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Rest assured, there’s no complacency with the Fontana and Watkins Glen winner, especially with Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, having a terrific season.
“A little bit of that goes into each race and race by race,” he remarked. “Especially in the playoffs in putting yourself in the right spot at the right time and weighing risk versus reward. Just trying to maximize your day and trying to get as many points as you can like you would at any other speedway race.”
Editor’s Notes
Blake Ulino contributed to this feature directly on-site from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
