Kyle Larson ruminates over taking on Martinsville for a potential season sweep ahead of his Championship 4 battle at Martinsville. (Photo: Nathan Solomon | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. — As the NASCAR Cup Series season winds down, Kyle Larson is preparing for a chance to win his second championship.
The path to Phoenix Raceway is playing out a bit similarly to his 2021 title winning campaign. Namely, he captured an early Round of 8 victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 15, providing him with some breathing room to be aggressive at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.
Last Sunday, Larson was in position to win his fifth points paying race of the year before a Lap 214 pit road entry crash, namely into the sand barrels, eliminated him from contention. As Sunday’s Xfinity 500 looms at Martinsville, the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California native prepares for a potential season sweep of the charter stock car track.
Although the practice times on Saturday did not seem favorable as he posted the 22nd fastest overall time and 19th fastest 10-lap consecutive run average, he showed his true cards in qualifying.
In this case, the 2023 NOCO 500 winner qualified fifth for Sunday’s 500-lap race. Much like last Sunday, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 does not need to win at Martinsville, but being the most recent victor at this track offers him confidence on race day.
“Yeah, I mean… it definitely helps my confidence,” Larson said. “Given our success last couple of years here where before the last couple of years, I dreaded this place. So now I don’t dread it quite as much and hope that I can have a good run.
“But, I’ve been here many times where it’s like I run OK in one race and then terrible in the next one. So I don’t get too overly confident, I think, because I know how tough this place is on me.”
Nevertheless, Larson should have confidence about running well at Martinsville based on his most recent five performances. Fittingly, the past five races are all with his Hendrick Motorsports team.
| Race Date | Event Name | Start Pos | Finish Pos |
| Apr. 16, 2023 | NOCO 500 | 19 | 1 |
| Oct. 30, 2022 | Xfinity 500 | 1 | 2 |
| Apr. 9, 2022 | Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 | 8 | 19 |
| Oct. 31, 2021 | Xfinity 500 | 1 | 14 |
| Apr. 10, 2021 | Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 | 19 | 5 |
| Averages | 9.6 | 8.2 |
For all of the talk about Larson getting prepared for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville offers a bit of a preview with what he can expect
“Yeah, I mean, sure, you know, (Turns) 3 and 4 at Phoenix is a sharper corner,” he said. “So I mean maybe there’s some technique stuff. Maybe there’s some car stuff. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about the race cars, but a good finish would help confidence, momentum always. I think that’s the most important piece.”
A bit of the Arizona sun and heat may have made its way to Martinsville with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 80s. Summertime has yet to leave Southwest Virginia, so it seems, but that might mean promising on-track action according to Larson.
The heat will be on for Kyle Larson and his competitors at Martinsville this Sunday for the final Round of 8 race. (Photo: Nathan Solomon | The Podium Finish)
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in Martinsville and it’s this hot,” he said, “So it’s crazy that we’re almost in November and it’s still this hot. I think handful of years ago it was snowing this weekend. It’s crazy. It feels like middle of the summer.
“Maybe locals might argue that, but yeah, it’s hot out there. And I think, hopefully you’ll make for a little bit better race. You maybe you’ll see a little bit more tire fall off rubber laid down on the track. So us drivers… I think always like the hotter temps even though we may suffer a little bit more in the car. I think for the racing, it’s usually better.”
Momentum can be sustained or increased with a good performance and finish at the paperclip track. When Larson won the championship in 2021, he won two of the three Round of 8 races which seemed to be a catalyst for him and his No. 5 team.
“Well, I don’t remember being very nervous last time either,” he said. “I think, you know, I was satisfied with the season that we had at that point and making the round of four and just having a shot to win the championship. Coming down one race is so crazy and (there’s) a lot of pressure on it.
“But yeah, I don’t remember feeling nervous. And maybe if I was any bit nervous maybe now, winning a championship will help that some. But I don’t really remember how I felt.”
Naturally, Larson is human like anybody else and he acknowledges a bit of trepidation may be there when he takes on Phoenix Raceway for a chance to be a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Then again, as he points out, for all the hype and pressure from external observers, it is about being the best finisher of the quartet going for glory this year.
Certainly, Kyle Larson knows the nerves may be there come Championship 4 race day at Phoenix next Sunday. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
“Yeah, I might get nervous. So I’m not saying I won’t be nervous. I know there will be some nerves regardless. It just means more (for) that race, but it’s still another race, and you don’t technically have to win the race to win the championship,” Larson said. “So you just want to do a good enough job to keep yourself in contention, not make any mistakes, and hopefully be there at the end like we were in ’21.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article on site from Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.
