Kyle Larson tallied his first podium at New Hampshire in nine years. (Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
LOUDON, N.H. – Despite qualifying 15th for Monday’s Crayon 301, Kyle Larson remained hopeful about his chances to contend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
After all, his two wins thus far in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season have come at tracks similar to “The Magic Mile.” Emerging victorious at Richmond and Martinsville, the 2021 Cup champion was cautiously optimistic with his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
It was not exactly a smooth, glamorous Stage 1 for Larson. Dropping to as low as 21st, the Hendrick Motorsports racer drove to an 11th place finish, one spot short of a stage point.
During the stage break caution, Larson’s No. 5 team adjusted the handling characteristics of his car. Once Stage 2’s first green flag run was underway on Lap 78, he restarted in 10th position.
Aside from pit stop cycles, Larson stayed inside the top 10 for the balance of the 301-lap race. Showcasing his long, green flag run pace, the Elk Grove, California native worked his inside the top five on Lap 91.
Unlike last year’s performance at New Hampshire, Larson and his No. 5 team continually improved their car. Whether with two or four fresh tires, the 11th-year Cup racer was in the mix, ready to square off against Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano of Team Penske.
With 11 laps remaining in Stage 2, Larson took the lead for the first time, scooting past Aric Almirola before the latter hit the Turn 2 wall due to a loose right rear wheel. On the subsequent restart, Larson was unable to fend off Truex as the latter opted for four fresh tires versus the former’s two fresh Goodyears.
Still, Larson tallied a runner up result, securing nine stage points and showcasing pure grit and hustle at New Hampshire. More importantly, he was easily the class of the Chevrolet camp at a track that has not been favorable for the Bowtie Brigade.
It was an absolute teamwork performance that netted Larson with a third place result at New Hampshire. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
For the remainder of the Crayon 301, Larson had his work cut out for him due to varying pit strategies. Restarting in 15th position with 110 laps remaining, he returned inside the top six. Not long after, he returned to the top five.
When Noah Gragson brought out an impactful caution on Lap 272, Larson’s team decided to pit for fuel and right side tires only to retain their track position. For the final 30 laps, the Californian extended his elbows out to nab a third place result.
Larson, who tallied his ninth top five result and 10th top 10 finish of the 2023 season, was somewhat and pleasantly stunned by his best outing at Loudon since 2014.
“Honestly, in my career, short tracks have been the worst,” Larson said. “This year, every time we go to a short track, we’ve got a really great car. I’ve won a lot of them and I’ve been third in this, fourth at Phoenix, so it’s been good.
“So just hats off to Hendrick Motorsports. It didn’t seem like the teammates didn’t fare really well today. Hopefully, they can look at our notes if we were much different and learn something from that and make their stuff better coming back.”
While Larson was pleased to tally his third podium at New Hampshire, he wanted to mix it up further with eventual winner, Truex, and Logano, who wound up placing in runner up.
“It looked like he had such a good car that he didn’t have to run all the way up the racetrack,” he said. “I was just hoping there, in the end, that he would still commit to that line and maybe Joey could race with him.
“Or if I ever got second, I could race with him. But he adapted finally and moved up and kind of choked off that very top lane and it won him the race.”
Nevertheless, Larson was the top Chevrolet racer at New Hampshire, a significant achievement given how well Toyotas and Fords take to this venue. For a racer who mixes it up in about any vehicle, it is safe to say his concerns are just about what goes on in the driver’s seat, not necessarily under the hood or with the car’s mechanical aspects.
The versatile Larson gave kudos to his No. 5 team’s pit work and performance. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“I have no idea,” he said with a grin. “I don’t ever look at setup sheets. I wouldn’t know what I was looking at anyways to be able to tell.”
Regardless, it was a great performance and result for Larson and his Cliff Daniels-led team. Teamwork prevailed once again at the 1.058-mile track, a feat that the future NASCAR Hall of Fame racer appreciated.
“It’s great,” Larson said. “Our short track stuff’s been good this year. I was optimistic going into this weekend. After practice, I lost a little bit of that optimism but we were good. Thanks to the whole No. 5 bunch for working really hard.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon and Terrill Covey contributed to this article on site from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
