Kyle Larson demonstrated respectable long run pace ahead of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Joshua White | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. — Kyle Larson finds himself in an usual spot going into Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Yet, he remains optimistic given how he and his No. 5 team responded to the bell in cutoff races during this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
When Larson kicked off the Round of 16 with a crash at Atlanta and pedestrian result at Watkins Glen, he held a slender advantage over the cutline going into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Qualifying second, he led 462 of 500 laps en route to a timely victory to advance to the Round of 12.
After making contact with the Turn 2 wall at Kansas en route to a 26th place finish, he qualified 12th at Talladega before racing wisely and adeptly to a fourth place finish.
Expressing some trepidation and concerns going into the Charlotte ROVAL, Larson started sixth and scored a dominant win, punching his ticket to the Round of 8.
Going into the penultimate leg of the Playoffs, Larson likely circled the race dates for Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami and Martinsville. With a combined total of five wins between the three venues, the Round of 8 seemed like it was ripe for the picking in terms of maximum points and an easy path to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway.
Instead, it has been a pair of races with adversities besieging the 2021 Cup champion’s efforts.
Although Larson lacked the speed at Las Vegas, he had a car capable of finishing inside the top 10 before a myriad of pit stop mistakes in Stage 2 put him behind the 8 ball. Rallying from a couple laps behind the leader to finish 11th, Larson minimized the points damage.
Kyle Larson has an impressive average finish of 2.75 in the past four races at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
Despite Larson shaking off the outcome at Homestead-Miami, it may be a race that either derails his Championship 4 quest or serve as a moot point. A flat right rear tire while leading the early portions of the race resulted in slight contact with the Turn 2 wall before he shed a tire carcass to bring out a caution.
Driving from 35th to second throughout the course of last Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400, Larson tried to wedge a gap between leader Ryan Blaney and the lapped car of Austin Dillon in Turn 3. Committing to the middle, Larson’s car broke loose and he spun in Turn 3, prompting the final caution of the race.
A heads up move by the pit crew to repair the car kept Larson in the fight despite dropping to a 13th place result. Perhaps more painful than the attempted winning pass was the lack of stage points at Homestead.
Rather than being above the cutline with a slender advantage going into Martinsville, Larson ranks fifth, seven points behind fourth place William Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Despite some pundits questioning Larson’s attempted, daring pass, he made it clear how Cliff Daniels, his crew chief, and his team have not chided him.
“Yeah, I think it it’s important for my confidence to know that that my team has my back and the moves that I make on the track,” he said. “I’d rather have it that way than him nitpick me afterwards. I’m my biggest critic anyways, but yeah, it’s good to have the support.”
All those positive vibes could make a world of difference for Larson as he remains optimistic with his perspective and chances.
Kyle Larson qualified ninth and ahead of those vying for one of the two coveted Championship 4 spots. (Photo: Joshua White | The Podium Finish)
“If I was seven below the cutline back then, I would just ride it off, like, ‘OK, we’re not making the Championship 4 this year,'” Larson said before Saturday’s on track sessions. “Now, I feel like this is honestly one of our better tracks as a team, even though it doesn’t feel that way behind the wheel to me.
“It takes me time to get into a rhythm. But our results are really well here. We’ve qualified pretty good here, [we] have scored pretty good stage points, all that stuff. We’ve gotten a win. It’s just still not a track where I can go dominate. So, hopefully this week, it’ll be different, but we’ll see. I definitely feel like we have a good shot, though.”
Saturday’s practice charts may look troubling for Larson as he posted the 30th fastest overall time and 17th quickest in a 10-lap run. However, Martinsville races often lend themselves to long, green flag runs with only the spring race in 2022 going into Overtime.
Since the 2022 Xfinity 500, Larson has a win, two runner up results and a sixth place finish, tallying an average finish of 2.75. During the same span, he has scored 36 stage points.
In other words, the panic button is not even on his mindset even with being below the cutline going into Sunday’s race.
On any given weekend, even at Martinsville, Larson cannot be counted out until the checkered flag when he usually prevails.
“We’ve got a win and a couple second-place finishes at Martinsville since I joined Hendrick Motorsports,” Larson offered. “It’s not always been a great track for me, but I think that Hendrick Motorsports has a great package for the track and it has definitely helped me. Hopefully, we can battle for stage wins and the victory on Sunday.”
