Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels hope to defend their ROVAL win on Sunday. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
CONCORD, N.C. – Prior to Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte, Kyle Larson recognized how challenging the Round of 12’s races would be for the Playoff contenders.
“I definitely think it’s gonna take some luck to get through this round for everybody,” Larson said. “But hopefully, our cars are fast enough and our team’s doing a good enough job, we can be good enough.”
At times, Larson and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy Camaro team have been stellar as evident with the Stage 1 victory at Texas and performances in Stages 1 and 2 last Sunday at Talladega.
However, Larson mustered finishes of ninth and 18th. Although Larson recognized how some pit stop issues resulted in their ninth place result at Texas, it was a lane change in Stage 3 that cost them points at Talladega.
While Larson was disappointed after Talladega, he has a new race to focus on with the 2.28-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL’s challenging cutoff race.
Last year, Larson and his No. 5 team rallied from voltage issues and an alternator belt problem to score their seventh win of the season. It was a pivotal moment that catalyzed their championship run.
This year, the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California native has showcased some of that title strength, especially with his wins at Fontana, California and Watkins Glen, New York.
Another positive for the reigning Cup champion is his strength on the road courses. Although it has been feast or famine on these tracks this year for Larson, he has been in the mix, especially at Road America, where he placed third, and Watkins Glen, site of his second win.
After a somewhat shaky Saturday where Larson’s car was, as he sometimes says, “squirrely,” he’ll roll off from the 18th starting spot. A decent qualifying start plus his experience with battling for a cutline spot may prove beneficial ahead of Sunday’s race.
Larson takes on the challenging infield portion of the Charlotte ROVAL. (Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)
“You may look at a situation and think risk versus reward and maybe hold back on a move early in the race,” he observed. “Our road course program has been really good and I hope it carries over to this weekend.
“I’ve been above the cutline several times before here and have had some crazy races and results.”
Given how crazy the Charlotte ROVAL can be, a calm, confident team leader is paramount. Larson does not have to look further than his crew chief Cliff Daniels.
Daniels has the detailed approach of Ray Evernham and motivational demeanor of Phil Jackson. Needless to say, Daniels recognizes some of the balancing act required to set up the unmistakable No. 5 Chevy Camaro.
“The ROVAL is substantially different compared to the other road courses on the circuit because you have the addition of the banking,” Daniels said. “There are a lot of different suspension components that we have to look at differently with this car. There were maybe a lot of similarities to a ROVAL setup last year compared to a Sonoma setup.
“It’s a much different look now for this weekend – it’s almost not a road course setup. I was joking earlier that it’s almost dune-buggy style – you have the banking, you have big elevation changes. There is a lot more happening with the suspension geometry and the travel of the car that we have not encountered anywhere else this year.”
All things told, Larson has a healthy mindset regardless of how things go on Sunday. It’s this approach that allows Larson to extract the maximum from his No. 5 car on a weekly basis.
“When things aren’t going a certain way you may want it to, I think, for me, I just try to move on and forget about it and know that I’m trying my best. And if things aren’t working out, I’ve got another race in front of me,” Larson said.
