Kyle Larson had a solid Bristol Dirt race evening with a stage win and fourth place result. (Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)
It was only a matter of time before Kyle Larson and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team righted their ship.
Considering their topsy turvy start as the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, it can be easy to ponder the reasons for the maddening inconsistent results.
Despite the victory at Fontana, California, Larson considered the ups and downs of his season, particularly placing emphasis on some of his mistakes.
“It’s been a struggle so far,” Larson observed. “I feel like our racecar is close. I feel given different circumstances if we execute a little bit better and get that little bit better track position, we could have some totally different races. Here lately, it’s just been a lot of mistakes on my part, so that’s been frustrating when it’s on you. I feel like that’s also the easiest thing to fix is when it’s yourself.”
Outside of the engine issues at Phoenix, Larson reflected on the past four weeks in typical candid fashion.
Larson capitalized on a solid Sunday evening at Bristol Dirt following some tough times. (Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)
“I feel like (at) Phoenix we blew up, but we were competitive,” he shared. “Atlanta, we were competitive and got in a wreck. COTA, we were competitive, and I just did a really bad job on the restarts and then got myself in the hornet’s nest and didn’t do a good job.
“Richmond, we were OK and got a better finish than we deserve and then [at Martinsville] we were clawing our way to get some good track position and right when we did, I sped on pit road.”
Like competitive tennis players, the 29-year-old Elk Grove, California native has committed some unforced errors. Even cool, mild mannered drivers like Larson can have their tough moments.
Much like those star athletes outside of motorsports, Larson has a solid support system with his crew chief and No. 5 team.
No doubt, Larson leaned on his No. 5 team during the tough stretch of races last month. (Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)
“Like I said, a lot of mistakes on my part here lately, which has gotten me frustrated,” he said. “I’ve got a really great race team with really great leadership with Cliff (Daniels) and everybody. I know we’ll be able to get through it, we just got to keep working hard and keep fighting and staying positive.”
Ahead of Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 10th year Cup racer is finding his stride and comfort with the current Cup car dubbed the “Next Gen” car. Much like his stance ahead of COTA, he didn’t find too much differences with the Gen 6 and Next Gen cars.
“Yeah, I think I don’t feel like it drives way different so that comfort feel is not hard to find. I feel like as we’ve gotten racing more, it’s maybe just the way the schedule is laid out, it’s gotten really hard to pass and that makes executing that much more important. That’s where I feel like I haven’t done a good job.”
Another aspect that the Californian considered prior to Bristol was maximizing on practice and qualifying, an aspect missing from the majority of NASCAR races following the pandemic pause in 2020.
“Just got to do a little bit more work on my part and just be a little bit better and we’ll be right there.” (Photo: Ryan Daley | The Podium Finish)
“You look at your guys who are winning and they’re just executing really good races and maintaining their track position all race long,” Larson reflected. “That starts from practice through qualifying and into the race, where I haven’t done a good enough job to be challenging for wins yet consistently like we were. Just got to do a little bit more work on my part and just be a little bit better and we’ll be right there.”
Larson, like many great athletes like Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Patrice Bergeron and Jeff Gordon, tapped into his resources and maximized on his opportunities at the 0.5-mile dirt track surface of Bristol Motor Speedway. Scoring a solid third in the fourth qualifying race, Larson tallied sufficient passing points to start fifth from the grid on Sunday evening.
On lap 49, Larson, who worked his way steadily up to second, passed Chase Briscoe. For 27 laps, “Yung Money” held the lead, scoring the stage 1 win.
After placing sixth in stage 2, Larson tallied a respectable fourth place finish. Considering the challenges facing the 2021 Bristol fall race winner, enjoyed his evening and strong result.
“I had a lot of fun and hopefully next year, we can get our car a little better and run towards the front even more.” (Photo: Jordan Anders-McClain | The Podium Finish)
“We had a good No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy all night,” Larson said. “We could have been a lot better, but I still feel like we had a car capable of winning if things played out differently. I think the weather kind of had everyone on the fence on what to do. But either way, it was fun.”
Following some frustrating times in March and earlier this month, outside of Richmond, Larson appreciated his latest result and how he weaved his way outside of the top-20 to take his fourth top five and top 10 this year.
“Getting back up there to the top-five was good,” Larson offered. “I wasn’t sure if we could get it done restarting 20-something to start the final stage. I had a lot of fun and hopefully next year, we can get our car a little better and run towards the front even more.”
