Kyle Larson focuses on scoring his first Pocono Cup win. (Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
Last year, Kyle Larson was on the precipice of earning a thrilling Pocono Raceway win.
Perhaps the one that stands out the most was the first of the doubleheader races, the Saturday showdown pitting Larson against Alex Bowman, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
Taking the lead from Bowman with four laps remaining, Larson seemed like a shoe-in for his fourth consecutive triumph during an impressive stretch that kicked off with a Coca-Cola 600 victory at Charlotte.
However, as Larson approached turn 3, he had a left front tire failure. Instead of winning at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, the Elk Grove, California native hit the wall, limping his battered No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to a ninth place finish.
The eventual NASCAR Cup Series champion tallied a second place finish with a damaged backup car for the second leg of the Pocono twofer, the second most impressive rally to winner Kyle Busch and his plethora of issues.
All told, Larson’s mind is nearly a blank slate entering Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (3 p.m. ET on USA).
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t even think about the flat tire last year,” Larson said. “I know a lot of people have been asking me, but it’s part of racing. So that doesn’t cross my mind one bit. We’re just here at another race and trying to get wins. So I’m excited about another opportunity to race and try to get a win.”
As Larson tallies more wins with his dirt track efforts, he logged one of sport’s biggest honors with a 2022 ESPY for Best Driver, besting NHRA competitor, Steve Torrence, NTT INDYCAR Series champion Alex Palou and Formula 1 victor Max Verstappen.
In usual Larson fashion, he was appreciative of his latest feat although his mind has been on his on track duties.
“I honestly hadn’t looked at who else won the award,” he shared. “But either way, it’s a really neat honor. Just to be there were some great, great drivers all throughout the world that you were very eligible of winning that. So to hopefully get a trophy will be pretty neat to put in the trophy case.”
Prior to Sunday’s race in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Larson and some of his Bowtie Bridgade teammates participated in the Urban Youth Racing School’s Grand Prix of Philadelphia.
Needless to say, the event was successful for the organization while offering a refreshing outlet for Larson and his NASCAR comrades despite the summertime conditions.
From a flat tire to a crinkled front clip, Larson hasn’t let last year’s races affect his mindset entering Sunday’s race at Pocono. (Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
“Yeah, it was hot. But, it was a lot of fun,” Larson recalled. “I know a lot of the Chevy guys that came out had a good time. And we were able to really just have fun you know. Those go kart events are always a good time. And we have fun with it. But we’re also really competitive out there.
“So it was fun to see the competitive juices going just for for a play race, too. So yeah, there was a lot of people to a big crowd and happy to hopefully introduce some people to a new form of sport.”
Perhaps some of those new eyes on NASCAR will follow the action at Pocono and next weekend at the Indianapolis Grand Prix layout in Speedway, Indiana. Last year, Larson nearly tallied a Verizon 200 win before settling for a third place finish.
If Pocono offers a chance at redemption, Indianapolis is an opportunity to attend to unfinished business.
“It’s kind of fast paced road course. So, we were really good there last year,” he said. “And I had a lot of fun and felt like we were capable of winning. I just didn’t have the restart to work out for me in the end. And we’ve been pretty strong on the road courses this year. So, I’m looking forward to getting there and getting the race to historical place.”
Presently, Larson has a chance to win his second Cup race of the season, rolling off Sunday’s starting grid from the fourth position. Ultimately, while crew chief Cliff Daniels returns after a four week suspension, Larson clarified how his No. 5 team has operated about the same in the past month.
“It’s good. It’s good to have him back in my ear,” Larson shared. “A lot of people ask, or I feel like… think that when your crew chief’s suspended, they’re gone on vacation.
“But that’s not the case. So he was still really heavily involved. And it wasn’t way different over the last four weeks.”
Editor/Author’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this feature on-site from Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
