A solid eighth place qualifying effort has Kyle Larson all smiles for Sunday’s race at Michigan. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Following a tough race last Sunday at Indianapolis, Kyle Larson is all focused on Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA).
Despite tallying his fifth Did Not Finish (DNF) following a lap 61 crash with Ty Dillon, he tries to not dwell on the unpredictability of NASCAR Cup Series racing, particularly with its odd moments.
Larson hopes for less wacky races and more normal times for his team. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“I don’t know. I don’t think much into that,” Larson said. “I’m curious to get out there and really get racing and see if the drafts are really big and stuff like that. As far as the wackiness, yeah, I mean, you kind of expect something weird to happen every week at this point. So hopefully it just doesn’t happen to us.”
Namely, the accident with Dillon at Indianapolis garnered some attention prior to Sunday’s race at Michigan.
Larson accepted full responsibility for the crash while acknowledging how he and Dillon cleared the air not long after.
“Yeah, definitely. I hit him hard,” he recalled. “It knocked the wind out of me. So I knew it was a hard hit for him too. It was 1000% on me. So I wanted to make sure he was OK. I like Ty. He is a really good guy. So yeah, I felt bad immediately and I wanted to check on him the next day.
“Thankfully, he understood the mistake and that made me feel much better about it too. I feel horrible about it. And I’m just glad we’re both safe because it was definitely a huge hit. Yeah, I mean, hopefully, I’m never in that predicament in that again.”
Now, it’s about moving forward and cleaning up the “wackiness” of the 2022 season. Aside from his DNFs, Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels have fast cars and a team that can defend their Cup championship.
Ahead of Sunday’s race, Larson seeks consistent, strong finishes, an attainable metric for the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California native and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro team.
No doubt, Larson likes his chances at Michigan. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“Yeah, I feel like with how weird this season has been, it can turn around really quick because I don’t feel like we’re lacking in the car department that much,” he offered. “So I feel like, yeah, I feel like if we just string together like two good weeks in a row, it could be the beginning of something really successful.
“I feel like we just haven’t been able to put two weeks, like two clean weeks in a row together all season long. So if that can happen, I think, yeah, I’m confident in the speed in our car. We’ve just got to get some consistency.”
On the surface, Larson seems like an immediate pre-race favorite. After all, he has three Cup wins at the 2-mile superspeedway, including his maiden series win in 2016 and a 2017 season sweep.
Similarly, he won the second race of the 2022 season held at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Michigan’s sister track. Looks can be deceiving, in this case, because Larson observes the two tracks’ distinct differences.
“I would say nothing (is similar) because the track is, I mean, on paper, you might think that it’s similar, but it’s nothing like Auto Club,” he said. “So I don’t think anything about Auto Club. When I get ready for Michigan, this place has a ton of grip where Auto Club has a lot of tire fall off. So nothing between the two tracks is similar for me.”
Fortunately, Larson has experiencing contending for wins at Michigan alongside a team of women and men who will fight alongside him in the postseason. Although Larson does not have numerous Playoff points like Chase Elliott, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, he acknowledges his team’s potential while holding himself accountable with getting back on track before another championship pursuit.
“It’s definitely a good time of year to be running well as we approach the Playoffs,” Larson remarked. “We have a lot of confidence before that starts. For Chase, for instance, he’s racking up bonus points right now which is huge. I would love to get things turned around and be doing that. I feel like our cars have been as good as his.
“There’s been some tracks before he’s a little bit better than me and I feel like there’s been tracks where I’ve been a little bit better him. He and his team, in general, have been doing a really good job executing. And I feel like, we as a group, the No. 5 team, just need to clean up a little bit and we can easily… we can be running a lot better than we are. So we’re not running bad either.”
Arguably, Larson is in one of the prime rides and teams in all of stock car racing. Ultimately, another championship run will come down to strong finishes and smooth performances from his over-the-wall crew along with the driver of the No. 5 car.
“It’s just a tough sport.” – Larson on Cup racing. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“We’re just not executing. And it’s on all of our parts,” he observed. “I’m not pointing fingers at anybody because, you know, look at me last week. So yeah, it’s just, it’s a tough sport. And this season’s just a little bit up and down.
“I feel like our car has been consistently fast. But us, as a team, has been up and down. So yeah, the Playoffs are approaching and we just got to keep working to clean those areas up and we’ll hopefully have a shot.”
Editor’s Notes
Jasmine Sharpe contributed to this article directly on-site from Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
