Kyle Larson celebrates his second pole of the season ahead of the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. — Kyle Larson is off to a strong start to his short track season, capturing the pole for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
While the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native may not consider the 0.526-mile track as one of his strongest, he has started to flip the script at this venue. Mainly, since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, he has thrived at the charter track.
Coming off a pole and third place finish last Sunday night at Richmond Raceway, Larson enters Sunday’s 400-lap race ranked second in points with a win at Las Vegas, three top fives and three top 10s.
Although Larson’s track record at Martinsville may not seem remarkable, compare how he has fared in his 18 prior starts to his six most recent visits to the track. The statistics are telling in terms of a compelling turnaround.
Kyle Larson’s Martinsville Career Statistics
| Race | Starting Position | Finishing Position |
| 2013 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 | 26 | 42 |
| 2014 STP 500 | 28 | 27 |
| 2014 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 | 16 | 30 |
| 2015 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 | 9 | 19 |
| 2016 STP 500 | 17 | 3 |
| 2016 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 | 11 | 14 |
| 2017 STP 500 | 1 | 17 |
| 2017 First Data 500 | 9 | 37 |
| 2018 STP 500 | 7 | 16 |
| 2018 First Data 500 | 9 | 37 |
| 2019 STP 500 | 6 | 18 |
| 2019 First Data 500 | 14 | 9 |
| 2021 Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 | 19 | 5 |
| 2021 Xfinity 500 | 1 | 14 |
| 2022 Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 | 8 | 19 |
| 2022 Xfinity 500 | 1 | 2 |
| 2023 NOCO 400 | 19 | 1 |
| 2023 Xfinity 500 | 5 | 6 |
| Average | 11.44444444 | 17.55555556 |
Kyle Larson’s Martinsville Statistics Since Joining Hendrick Motorsports
| Race | Starting Position | Finishing Position |
| 2021 Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 | 19 | 5 |
| 2021 Xfinity 500 | 1 | 14 |
| 2022 Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 | 8 | 19 |
| 2022 Xfinity 500 | 1 | 2 |
| 2023 NOCO 400 | 19 | 1 |
| 2023 Xfinity 500 | 5 | 6 |
| Average | 8.833333333 | 7.833333333 |
For a driver who has improved in about every career category at the paperclip, Larson did not sound like a driver who has found his zone despite statistics being in his favor.
“I still have a lot of room for improvement there to be a consistent contender,” Larson said in a team press release. “It’s still not a comfortable track for me. I still don’t really feel I can run consistent, comfortable laps with a rhythm.
“Yeah, I won last year, but it’s still not a good track for me. I don’t go there and dominate like I have at a lot of other race tracks. But we happened to win there last year, so that was really neat and something I’ll never forget. It was something that I never thought I would do.”
That said, Larson may have a chance to repeat his feat from his April. For starters, he was among the fastest drivers in the long run during Saturday’s practice session. Additionally, he backed up his race pace by being the fastest in Group B qualifying and fastest overall in the final qualifying round, edging Bubba Wallace for the pole by 0.001 seconds.
Besides entering Sunday’s race as the polesitter and defending race winner, this weekend commemorates Hendrick Motorsports’ first Cup win 40 years ago. As Hendrick celebrates its ruby anniversary, fittingly, the four teams are adorning ruby red, the color of a 40th anniversary.
Before Larson won the pole on Saturday afternoon, he considered the significance of this weekend for his team a few weeks ago at Circuit of the Americas.
Kyle Larson showcased speed in short and long run situations ahead of Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“I think the whole company is looking forward to that a lot,” Larson said. “There’s a lot of festivities going on around that event. It’s basically going to be like the Hendrick Motorsports 400. So they’re they’re taking over. So it’s nice. A lot of people, hundreds of people from the race shop, are going to be there in honor of Hendrick Motorsports. So the ruby red cars, all of that.
“I mean, there’s there’s probably there’s so much stuff going on that weekend for Hendrick and in the week leading up. So, yeah, it’s exciting. And it probably adds pressure, a little bit, to to all of us to try and get a win on that meaningful night.”
So far, Larson and his No. 5 team are making a compelling case to add to their 28 wins at Martinsville. Fittingly, the team’s first victory was with Geoff Bodine, the original driver of the No. 5 car. The Chemung, New York, native, by way of Bellingham, Massachusetts, drove to the team’s maiden win, the first of their 304 victories in their 40-year history.
Martinsville carries positive memories in terms of their 28 wins and its toughest moment of all from the tragic aircraft crash on Oct. 24, 2004, that claimed the lives of all 10 people on board. To this day, whenever a Hendrick Motorsports driver and team win, the victors point to the sky as a tribute to the 10 lives lost on that fall afternoon.
Given all that has happened to the Hendrick organization and family, particularly in the past 20 years, Larson points out that he and his team understand what is on the line.
“I wouldn’t say I feel any more pressure to win,” Larson said. “I don’t think probably any of us four drivers feel any more pressure to win, but we know what the magnitude of a win this weekend would mean for the company. Yeah, I don’t think that’s any more pressure or any more emphasis on the weekend, but we all try to go out there and execute as good as we can every week and hopefully the results end up in a win.
“As far as like ‘pep talks’ – no because I think that ties into the first answer. We all know what this weekend means to the company, so there’s no real ‘pep talk’ needed to remind us how important this weekend is.”
Much like Caitlin Clark with her intense focus on becoming a champion in women’s basketball, Larson’s determination speaks volumes to becoming one of the best all-around racers of this generation. Along the way, he has been a catalyst for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, particularly for Asian Americans, an underrepresented demographic in stock car racing.
After Larson won his 18th career Cup pole, he was informed that he won the 50th pole for drivers graduating from the diversity program. For all the accolades Larson has garnered in his career, he has never forgotten how he got his start in stock cars with this intiative.
Kyle Larson has been razor focused on the task at hand during a special weekend for Hendrick Motorsports during the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“Yeah, that’s great stat to hear,” he said. “I was in the program 12 years ago or so, and it did a lot for my career then to gain experience. That was really my introduction to pavement racing, especially in stock cars.
“To kind of see how it has evolved over the years and the equipment that they have now, it seems really good. Drivers are able to go out there and compete at a high level now. Hats off to everybody that’s part of the Drive for Diversity Program. It’s always growing and getting better.”
Larson, as one of the leading faces of NASCAR’s diversity movement and its first graduate to become a Cup champion, may seem like a driver with a lot of luxury on his side after his Las Vegas win and the strong start to the year. All in all, it will be the same mindset going into Sunday’s race as Larson pursues his 25th career Cup victory and 19th with Hendrick Motorsports.
“No. I feel like anytime you win, you get that question a lot,” Larson said. “I’d be curious to hear if any other drivers’ answers would be anything different than ‘no’. We all try to call the races to win each week, at least at Hendrick Motorsports anyways. So no, I think we just try to continue going forward and executing whatever we have to do to win.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.
