Kyle Larson’s Charlotte ROVAL weekend kicked off in the worst possible fashion. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
CONCORD, N.C. — All seemed rather routine for Kyle Larson during Saturday’s practice session at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Larson posted quick times inside the top 10 speed charts as he pressed for the maximum with his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. However, trouble ensued as he approached Turn 8 of the 2.28-mile hybrid course.
As Larson attempted to drive up the banking that normally leads to Turn 1 of Charlotte’s quad-oval layout, he attempted to regain control of his car. That momentary twitch proved costly as he smacked the outside SAFER barrier with his right front and side, damaging his quick Camaro.
This was not one of those ordinary wall smacks that the Next Gen car typically withstands. It was more like a knockout punch before the fight commenced.
Once Larson was evaluated and released from the infield medical care center, he faced the music by discussing the Turn 8 crash.
“I just got loose entering (Turn) 8 and overcorrected it,” Larson said. “I got the right front in the wall. It just kinda gets bouncy over there and it stepped out on me.”
Considering Larson’s slender advantage over the cutoff battle to advance into the Round of 8, the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California native envisions that his game plan has greatly changed with gathering valuable stage points.
“I don’t think you can go for stage points from (36th),” he said. “The silver lining may be that you can shorten the stages and get your track position that way to be up front for the end of the race. When you go for stage points, you’re restarting 26th or worse every time. I think that’ll be what we’re planning move forward.”
The damage proved too substantial for repairs in the garage area, prompting the team to call for the backup car about six minutes away at the Hendrick Motorsports campus.
Working feverishly to prepare the understudy vehicle that was not expected to turn laps for Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400, Larson and his team have their work cut out for them.
Still, the Hendrick campus banded together to burn the midnight oil, feverishly working on the backup chariot for Larson. With the crash still fresh on his mind, Larson felt like the everyday individual who made a mistake that dwelled over their mind in the workplace.
“It’s only been 30 minutes or so so it’s OK to be pissed off at yourself,” he said. Hopefully, I’ll be fine and trying to forget about it after the race.”
At times, Larson has been known to overdrive his cars, wanting to push them to the maximum like a gunslinging quarterback on the field. On this occasion, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion reflected on the consequences of his rare Saturday practice crash.
“We haven’t been in this position at least in the Next Gen era,” Larson said. “I don’t know if we ever crashed in practice (in 2021). (Cliff Daniels) is an extremely good leader.
“It’s nice that you’re at home and you can go to the shop and get things prepared a little bit better than you probably can at the racetrack, I’m assuming. I guess that’s good if you have to go to a backup car. It still sucks. It’s a Saturday at home. I wish they could get to spend that day and night with their family, but they’ll be working.”
Come Sunday afternoon in the capital of stock car country, Larson will clamber into a car that has not turned laps around the ROVAL. There may be moments he fights those self doubts and wonders if and when he can push his car to the maximum.
Nevertheless, as Daniels pointed out prior to the Texas race weekend, he reflected on a value of Rick Hendrick, affectionately known as “Mr. H,” when it comes to growing from mistakes.
“We know that if we make a mistake one time or two times, he’s not just going to come block us up on upside of the head,” Daniels said, “He’s going to help us grow through that.
“Of course, you can’t continue to make the same mistakes and grow, but he’s always going to be there to help us grow. And there’s a lot of that Hendrick family mindset the way we all work together that’s so critical to that.”
Ideally, Daniels, Hendrick and the successful stock car organization want a driver like Larson to be as teflon as possible on the track. But that is what makes motorsports, and life in general, interesting. Curiosity piques one when wanting to find out what the maximum is in a craft.
Although Larson’s race day will be tough as he hopes to advance into the semifinals of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason, he at least did not lose his sense of humor.
“I don’t really like the oval,” Larson said with a bit of a smile. “It’s a tough place and I’ve had some mistakes here, I guess. It’s still a fun place and I enjoy coming to it.”
