Kyle Larson would like another Kansas win much like in his 2021 championship season. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – If Kyle Larson’s postseason warmup act was his Darlington victory, Sunday’s race at Kansas may be the opening act of his championship run.
Despite a cool, quiet summertime run, the 31-year-old Hendrick Motorsports racer is starting to hit his stride in the Playoffs. While some may back off after a pivotal win, the Elk Grove, California native only knows one speed – go.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion enters Kansas Speedway hoping to be a man with momentum. On Saturday afternoon, he kicked off his Hollywood Casino 400 efforts with the fourth fastest time in practice.
Equally important, Larson was the second fastest driver in a 10-lap consecutive run. This showcases his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s trademark strong, long green flag run.
Larson backed up his strong Saturday showing by qualifying second for Sunday’s 267-lap Hollywood Casino 400. Certainly, the search for critical momentum may have truly started last Sunday night at the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway.
After an electrifying Darlington win, Kyle Larson continued his strong frontrunner ways with a second place effort in Saturday’s qualifying round at Kansas. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
“It feels good to win and then have it be the Southern 500 felt great,” Larson said. “It was just good to get a win. It’s been since May since I won a stock car race. So I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to to win. So yeah, I felt good.”
Along with pursuing a second Cup championship, Larson would love to capture all of stock car’s crown jewel races.
“Daytona is the only one on the schedule,” he said. “If we go back to the oval (at) Indy, you want that one too.”
Presently, it is about the here and now at 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, a track that Larson emerged victorious at in the 2021 Playoffs race. The key to his autumn triumph two years ago was a well balanced car that proved versatile around this abrasive speed palace.
Following his critical triumph in 2021, Larson has been close but tasted bitter defeat at the venerable track. Mainly, two runner-ups at Kansas were highlighted by Larson grappling with a loose handling car that may have been as difficult as managing a sprint car.
If Saturday’s on track activities are any indication, perhaps Larson may have a car that allows him to run his race without pulling off Neo-like moves.
Undoubtedly, Kyle Larson enjoys pursuing different lines at a track like Kansas. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
“I felt like I could run some different lanes that I would have liked to be able to run you in the race earlier this year,” he said. “So I think that’s an improvement. But you just never know until you get in the race.”
By all means, Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels do not intend to slow down even with an automatic Round of 12 berth. In this case, the tenacious driver and his No. 5 team will continue to be on the offensive to tally Playoff points and wins.
“I don’t approach it any differently,” he said. “I don’t think anybody would or any team would. There’s still a lot of points in line, so you don’t want to be careless and make stupid calls to be too aggressive because you’ve got to win and you’re locked in.
“My goal is to just run up front in the stages and hopefully be up front at the end of the race, have another shot to win. So you want to build on good finishes and we haven’t had two good weeks in a row in a long time. So that’s kind of my goal. Going into really the whole Playoffs is just to be consistently up front and finishing up front.”
Once the prize is on the line, Kyle Larson is as laser focused as a quarterback in a two-minute drill. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
Along with pursuing points, the prize and pride, Larson may learn valuable information to help him excel at latter intermediate tracks in the Playoffs. His input may play a critical role with preparing more fast, consistently strong cars for another earnest, serious pursuit of stock car immortally.
“I think every track’s different,” Larson said. “I don’t know a whole lot about the race cars themselves. But there’s definitely some things that the team and engineers will learn.
“You’re looking at our setup from this weekend and if we run good or run average that they can, you’ll learn from and apply to the upcoming races. So yeah, teams evolve and learn every week.
Editor’s Notes
Brooklyn Jackson contributed to this article on-site from Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
