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Kyle Larson Gears Up for First Martinsville Cup Win

Kyle Larson scored his fourth pole of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

Kyle Larson scored his fourth pole of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

MARTINSVILLE, Virginia – Kyle Larson’s Round of 12 may have ended in a shocking fashion at the Charlotte ROVAL.

However, Larson is making quick haste of the Charlotte ROVAL setback and tangle with Bubba Wallace at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

In this case, the 30-year-old native of Elk Grove, California put on a tremendous masterclass at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Sunday. Rolling off from the fifth starting position, Larson led 199 of 267 laps, the most dominant performance by a driver during this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Larson has kept the good times rolling for his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy Camaro team at Martinsville Speedway. Despite Larson’s struggles at the 0.526-mile track, he was the fourth fastest in Saturday’s practice round and the seventh fastest in the 10-lap average charts.

Not long after, Larson drove to his fourth pole position of the 2022 season with an approach that may seem contrary to his usual trait of going fast and all out.

Larson dialed up a smooth operator lap at Martinsville. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

Larson dialed up a smooth operator lap at Martinsville. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

“I just tried to be smooth, keep traction the whole lap and it worked out,” Larson said. “I tried to go a little bit harder the first lap than I did the round before. I kind of locked up, so I just kind of backed it down the second lap.

“I feel like a lot of times here, slower is faster, so I just tried to be smooth with it. I’m surprised I did anything good here at Martinsville, so off to a good start so far. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

While being eliminated from the driver’s championship fight, Larson’s focus is on winning the owner’s title for Rick Hendrick. Clinching a Championship 4 spot by virtue of his Homestead win, the defending Cup champion has his priorities set for the rest of the Playoffs.

“My mindset hasn’t really changed at all, really,” he shared. “Just grateful to still have the opportunity to race for an owner’s championship. Yeah, three more points would be good, but I honestly don’t lose any sleep about it.

“I’ve got one championship under my belt and going for another one these next couple of weeks. I feel like going for an owner’s title is really what’s important.

As for Larson’s thoughts on Martinsville, a track that seems to be a bit of a puzzle for him, he seeks consistency, capitalizing on a strong, fast car that he feels is better than him.

“Yeah, probably a lot better than I am,” he said with a laugh. “I struggle at this place. I can put some good laps together, but I’m pretty inconsistent. I don’t think that’s a car thing. I think my car is really good. That shows with my teammates and how well they’ve run here the last few years. I’ve worked really hard to get better here.

“I still don’t quite have it figured out, or even close to figured out, but days like today help give you a little more confidence. The good track position with how difficult it is to pass in this car will help us and hopefully I can be good enough to keep it up front and have a good finish.”

Similarly, Larson likes his chances as he builds momentum for Phoenix and the 2023 season. As he looks to recapture his 2021 form, it is not just about him and his No. 5 team.

Sunday’s race is about giving Hendrick Motorsports its best chances to win the driver’s and owner’s championship, the latter which Larson hopes to contribute to when this year wraps up.

Ahead of Sunday's Xfinity 500, Larson hopes to continue his hot streak from Homestead. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

Ahead of Sunday’s Xfinity 500, Larson hopes to continue his hot streak from Homestead. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

“Looking forward to it,” Larson said. “Thank you to everybody at Hendrick Automotive Group, HendrickCars.com, Hendrick Motorsports. Chase (Elliott) and I on the front row will be pretty cool.

“Hopefully we’ll get Chase and William (Byron) locked-in through this round and give Mr. H a few shots at the championship.”

Rob Tiongson is a 30-something motorsports journalist who enjoys sports like baseball, basketball, football, soccer, track and field and hockey. A Boston native turned Austinite, racing was the first sport that caught his eyes. From interviews to retrospective articles, if it's about anything with an engine and four wheels, it'll be here on TPF, by him or by one of his talented columnists who have a passion for racing. Currently seeking a sports writing, public relations, or sports marketing career, particularly in motorsports. He enjoys editing and writing articles and features, as well as photography. Moreover, he enjoys time with his family and friends, traveling, cooking, working out and being a fun uncle or "funcle" to his nephew, niece and cat. Tiongson, a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, pursues his Master of Arts in Digital Journalism at St. Bonaventure University. Indeed, while Tiongson is proud to be from Massachusetts, he's an everywhere kind of man residing in Texas.

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