While Kyle Larson may have his reservations about superspeedway racing, he was a strong contender during Talladega’s spring race earlier this year. (Photo: John Arndt | r/NASCAR)
LINCOLN, Ala. – Despite Kyle Larson’s up and down results at the superspeedways, he made nearly all the right moves to win the spring Talladega Cup race earlier this season.
Starting from the fifth position, Larson led the field for 32 laps before tallying a fourth in the GEICO 500. Easily, it was the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California native’s best result at a superspeedway race.
After breaking even in terms of his starting and finishing position last Sunday evening at Texas with a ninth, he’s got a better view of a potential third win in 2022 for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC).
For starters, Larson will roll off the grid from the second position alongside his longtime dirt track comrade and Playoff rival, Christopher Bell.
Despite the subsequent superspeedway races following the Daytona 500 being a qualify and race weekend format, it appears that the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy Camaro team have a fast car in their arsenal.
Prior to qualifying, Larson mulled over the risk versus reward of being toward the front in the early going at Talladega. Suffice to say, he does not anticipate drivers playing it safe in the first two stages.
Larson had a breakeven kind of evening at Texas last Sunday. (Photo: John Arndt | r/NASCAR)
“I don’t think so just because there’s so many stage points on the line,” Larson said in a team press release. “Yes, there might be a couple that do that, but I feel like you typically don’t see that.”
A fast racecar and smooth pit stops always pay dividends no matter the track. However, a bit of fortune cannot hurt as Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 team, can attest with their spring result.
“I would say more luck because we were able to stay out of the wrecks,” Daniels said in a team press release. “From a strategic standpoint, everything we accomplished that race is the exact strategy we try to implement every speedway race.
“We try to get up front and stay up front. We try to have a good driving car that can pass and draft and do all the things you need it to do.”
While a driver can overcome a tough pit stop at most tracks, mistakes have to be minimized along with finding the right drafting partner at Talladega. Daniels acknowledged his hopes that Larson can work with his Hendrick Motorsports allies and Chevrolet comrades.
“We try to be on the right side of pit strategy while working with our teammates and other Chevrolet teams,” Daniels added. “From a pure strategic standpoint, we target that every single speedway race.”
Certainly, Larson hopes to shake off his previous superspeedway effort, the regular season finale at Daytona.
In fact, it was an early exit for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion as engine issues relegated him to a 37th place result after 14 laps.
Perhaps Larson may channel some of Landon Cassil’s observation from Saturday’s Xfinity race at Talladega about being in the mix for a win. (Photo: John Arndt | r/NASCAR)
Although Larson quipped about the possibility of being collected in a crash during Saturday’s bullpen session, he’ll aim for the best result on Sunday afternoon.
Moreover, he’ll vie for those valuable stage points to maximize his Round of 12 Playoff position ahead of next Sunday’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL.
“I think there’s so many stage points on the line that if you can get those points then, even if you wreck, you’ll have a decent points day out of it,” he observed. “I see everybody racing pretty hard.”
