“He Was the Cannonball” – Despite a Crash at Indy, Kyle Larson Emerges as a Favorite at the Brickyard

Hendrick Motorsports is having a mixed season so far. While Kyle Larson and William Byron have been quite impressive so far, it hasn’t been the same with Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. Having said that, Rick Hendrick and his team will be hoping for some more magic from Larson. With the next race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the #5 driver finds himself in a good position to make it big on Sunday.

While the race will be taking place at the Indianapolis Road Course, Larson does have some old scars to live with. However, with his capability and maturity behind the wheel, he always seems to get better in that aspect.

Kyle Larson has the stats behind him to emerge victorious on Sunday

It’s safe to say that Kyle Larson has had a pretty good outing in the 2023 season. Had it not been for some unfortunate events and wrecks, he would have definitely been sitting a bit higher on the table. Currently, while he stands sixth on the table, he still has three more races to change things around.

With 662 points, two wins, and ten top-five finishes, Larson has proven to be a threat on the track. His aggressive and smart driving has worked out well for him. However, that wasn’t the case when he last visited the Brickyard in Indianapolis. Last year, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was involved in a dangerous crash with Ty Dillon.

The incident took place in Turn 1 when the #5 car launched into the corner and almost T-boned the #42 car in the process. Obviously, there was no intent from Larson to do so, as the root cause seemed to be a mechanical failure. Luckily, both drivers were safe after the accident, and all remained well between the two.

While that happened, it hasn’t helped Larson with good memories at the Indianapolis race course. However, there are statistics that really help his cause going into the race on Sunday. In the recent episode of the Dirty Mo Dough podcast, Steve Letarte discussed Larson’s chances with the Professor.

Letarte took time to recall the crash at Indianapolis last year. He said, “We’re not sure what happened wreck, Larson took credit as a driver’s mistake. As a former crew chief, I really appreciate to this day. I don’t know it seems like a pretty sure if something didn’t go wrong with the car which I applaud him if he doesn’t want to point the finger but either way he was the cannonball in the turn 1.”

Despite the crash, the Professor spilled out some interesting stats in Larson’s favor. He said, “Larson, he’s won four of the last 14 road course races, he won in this car last year at Watkins Glen, he was fourth at Chicago, eighth at Sonoma.” Clearly, Larson has a great opportunity on Sunday.

READ MORE – “Unfortunate for Teammates” – The Lone HMS Survivor at Michigan, Kyle Larson Pities His Teammates

While he does that, some fans still remain clueless about his crash last year, with many coming up with different theories.

Fans suspect a conspiracy as video of the No. 5 Chevy crashing with Ty Dillon resurfaces

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What happened last year at the Indianapolis Road Course is not often seen in the Cup Series. While Larson came out and accepted it as a “big mistake” on his part, things haven’t been clearly specified to date. There are chances that there is nothing more to it than just a brake issue.

However, when NASCAR recently shared a video of the crash on Twitter, fans came up with their theories and concerns related to the incident.

“This was and still is a odd crash”

“People say no brakes but the data shows he didn’t lose them”

“Suspicious when he chose not to do an interview.”

“And the car was taken from the track before anyone could look at it.”

“Still confused by this. If he didn’t lose brakes what on earth was he trying to do…”

“still a mystery as to what caused this”

While there is not much one can do about what happened, it is best to let bygones be bygones. Come Sunday, Larson will be raring to make amends and hopefully enter victory lane. Can he register his third victory of the season on the weekend? Let us know in the comments below.

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