Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 CLOROX Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 19, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
It’s a NASCAR triple-header this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway with the Camping World Trucks and the XFINITY Series races in the books. On Sunday, September 20th, the Sprint Cup teams will take to the track for their first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. While most are looking for a Chase driver victory, the possibility for a non-Chase winner could make it interesting. Kyle Larson wants to be that guy, at some point during the Chase.
Larson is racing all three events this weekend at the 1.5-mile track outside of Chicago in Joliet, Illinois. He finished the Truck race on Saturday morning in seventh-place, after earning the pole award to start the race. On Saturday evening, Larson again sat behind the wheel, this time in the NASCAR XFINITY race, where he started sixth, ran third for most of the race and finished a disappointing 22nd-place after running out of fuel in the closing laps.
Many think Larson is about to make a breakthrough during his sophomore slump this season and take a win in at least one of the next ten events in the Sprint Cup Series Chase. Larson would love for that to happen at Chicagoland Speedway.
“Chicago is one of my favorite race tracks,” says Larson. “I really enjoy the mile-and-a-halfs and …the pavement is really worn out and the tires wear out really quick, so you can move around a lot and there’s a lot of racing grooves. I’ve always run pretty well here in the Cup and XFINITY Series and everybody can see that JRM has really nice Truck stuff with Chevy support. It was cool to get the opportunity to come and run it (Trucks) and all three races this weekend.”
This is the second year that Larson has missed the NASCAR playoffs that decides the Sprint Cup title for the season. Despite that, he and his No. 42 team want to make their mark with a win before the season ends in November. Larson can make a big statement as a non-Chaser with a victory.
“Yeah, last year I missed the Chase also,” says Larson. “And we were definitely one of the few non-Chasers to contend for a win during the Chase. So, it’s disappointing we didn’t make the Chase, but in this post season, we’re going to work really hard to get out there and get a win – to get a couple of wins would be nice. I’d definitely like to be that guy that spoils the Chase with a win this year.”
Beyond the Sprint Cup race on Sunday, Larson already has an idea of which tracks are potential winning tracks for his No. 42 Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates team. Competitors beware, as there are more than just a couple.
“I’ve finished second at Kansas,” says Larson. “We really struggled at Loudon this year, but we finished second there in the Chase last year. Then with Charlotte, Texas and Homestead, I usually run pretty well there.”
With Larson experiencing the typical sophomore slump that’s been frustrating, there’s little doubt he wants to end this season on a high note with some positive energy to carry into next season. Larson knows there’s more they can do to improve, but he also knows his team is moving in the right direction.
“Obviously when you look at our stats, we’ve had a lot worse season this year than we did last year,” says Larson. “It’s been pretty disappointing, but I feel like we’ve run better throughout the race than we did last year, we just don’t finished as well. It gets kind of frustrating, but we just have to figure out how to get better at the end of the race. Where last year we were really good at the end of the race, but not very good in the first three-quarters of a race. That’s what’s been the most frustrating part about this season. We’re getting better the last few weeks, so we just plan to keep that going.”
What sets Larson apart from the rest, especially at Chicagoland Speedway, is that what other drivers find challenging in a frustrating way, Larson finds those same challenges as something that’s fun and makes for great racing.
“Well I don’t know, I came from a dirt track background so the tracks are never the same and they’re never really smooth and you can move around a lot. I think the bumps here (Chicagoland Speedway) and the worn out pavement, just open up the racing groove from the very bottom all the way to very top – and it makes for some great racing, at least in the cockpit. Yeah, that’s why it’s one of my favorites.”
Kyle Larson starts the MyAFibRisk.com 400 from the fifth starting position on Sunday, so stay tuned in to see if he can upset the Chase with victory. Whether its Chicagoland or any one of the next nine Sprint Cup Series races, expect Larson to run as a strong non-Chase contender.
Watch the Sprint Cup teams start the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway on NBCSN on Sunday, September 20th at 3 pm ET.