Kyle Larson may have his work cut out for him starting in 16th for Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. – Prior to Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, it was a bit of unknown territory for Kyle Larson and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team. That said, he did not seem too worried about taking on the 0.625-mile short track, particularly with his solid results thus far at similar venues.
“I feel like we’ve done really well on the short tracks this year and we won at Richmond and Martinsville, two tracks I typically wouldn’t be good at,” Larson said in a team press release. “I’m excited to go to North Wilkesboro. It’s got worn out pavement.
“I’m typically not the best at saving my tires, so I’m a little nervous about that. Going into North Wilkesboro this weekend, I think that the atmosphere is going to be great.”
Despite starting 16th for Sunday night’s 200-lap race, Larson tallied a dominant Tyson 250 victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Those valuable laps may come into play in the somewhat longer NASCAR All-Star Race, especially with only one set of fresh tires available in Stage 2.
Likewise, Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, recognized the incredible work and efforts put forth to realize this once unlikely realization.
“I think it will be interesting for us to get there, touch the track, feel it and see what it’s all about,” Daniels said in a team press release. “There is certainly a lot of excitement and anticipation. Kudos to SMI (Speedway Motorsports, LLC.), NASCAR, North Carolina and everybody who has taken the initiative to get us back to this place. I know that it’s going to be really special to all of us to be there and feel the excitement of the event.
Similarly, Daniels wants to win another NASCAR All-Star Race like he would a championship points paying race. After all, some of the input from this weekend may come into play at a latter race or provide a basis point, at the very least.
Kyle Larson showcased some short run pace and decent long run speed in Friday’s practice session. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
“For us, it’s still a competitive race and it has a trophy,” he said. “We still want to go put our best foot forward so we are going to study and do all of the things that we can to be good and be competitive.
“There are certainly a lot of unknowns, which will be fun to battle through and is of course going to be the same for the whole Cup field. Hopefully, we shake out on the good end of things.”
Lately, it has been a struggle for Larson and Daniels with nabbing good finishes. It has not been due to lack of effort but more in part with incidents involving Ross Chastain.
Still, the Californian did not necessarily want to point fingers at Chastain but more at the outcome with being collected in late race dustups.
“I really don’t know how to answer that,” Larson said. “It got a little frustrating, it can be anybody out there, that we haven’t gotten the results that we deserve the last few weeks.”
Time will tell if Larson will prevail in the 200-lap, two stage race set to get the green flag after 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Then again, the 21-time Cup race winner hopes to achieve a bit of history by winning NASCAR All-Star Races at three different tracks.
“We’ll see how it goes, but I think that this could be a great spot to just leave the All-Star Race,” he said. “I do love going to different venues and I think that really shows who the “all-star” is and who the best driver in the sport is. It’s definitely an honor to have won at Charlotte and Texas.
“If I could win at North Wilkesboro, that would be pretty amazing and something to be proud of. I’m really excited about the opportunity to go there and I never thought that I would race at that track.”
