Kyle Larson will have his work cut out for him if he wants his first Martinsville win. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. – Kyle Larson’s track record at Martinsville Speedway may be an exercise in frustration at times.
However, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion is more than up to the task with taking on the 0.526-mile track. Mainly, the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California native has shown some flashes of brilliance at this track.
Although his average finish at the paperclip shaped track is 19.3, this statistic improves when looking at his past four starts when he joined Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 team (10.0).
Of course, a driver like Larson does not approach a race weekend merely hoping for a top 10. Victory is on his mind no matter the venue or track history for the 20-time Cup race winner.
“I want to win at any track that I haven’t won at,” Larson said in a team press release. “Martinsville (Speedway) has been a place I’ve struggled at pretty regularly. Last year, we had two good races at Martinsville. I feel like it is potentially in our future to win a race there.”
Larson is serious about battling for the win at Martinsville. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
In the 2022 races, Larson qualified eighth and first, respectively placing 19th and second. Despite last fall’s race being a sparkling showing for Larson, last spring’s race was a microcosm of his track record at Martinsville.
A few speeding penalties eliminated Larson from contention after a slow but steady rally back into the top 10 in Stage 3 of last year’s NOCO 400. This time around, it seems he has returned to 19th in terms of his starting position.
Recently, Larson described how the slower paced tracks have been the bane of his stock car career. Nevertheless, he has reasons to be confident and optimistic.
For starters, he has been in the mix at the low downforce races at Phoenix, Circuit of the Americas and Richmond.
Moreover, a familiar face returns atop the No. 5 team’s pit box with crew chief Cliff Daniels back in command.
“(I’m) certainly optimistic going to Martinsville Speedway,” Daniels said in a team press release. “Hendrick Motorsports, as a whole with the Next Gen car last year, had decent performance there. It is a different aerodynamic package than what we had last year, so there are some question marks around that.
“We will just have to work through it this weekend. It’s nice knowing that we have the foundation of performance last year with our company and hopefully we can build on that.”
“I feel like it is potentially in our future to win a race there.” – Kyle Larson re: Martinsville. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
Finishes of fourth, 14th and first are certainly a bit encouraging for Larson and Daniels. Another victory would bring some ease to the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team especially with the second quarter of the 2023 season well underway.
Before Larson can consider a championship run, he remains focused on pursuing his first Martinsville victory. For a driver who has won at a variety of tracks in multiple disciplines, the tiny track in Southwest Virginia is his latest and biggest quest as far as a win is concerned.
“If I did, that would probably be the all-time biggest win of my life, because any time you can accomplish something that is difficult to you or you don’t think you can accomplish, it means a lot,” Larson said.
