Anxious Kyle Larson Makes Heart-Breaking 7-Word Confession Hours Before Talladega Clash

Sep 30, 2023 | 10:14 PM EDT

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Kyle Larson has made a strong case for being one of the championship contenders this season. Coming off a topsy-turvy regular season, the Hendrick Motorsports spearhead flaunted his arsenal in the first elimination round of the playoffs. However, one of his biggest roadblocks, the Talladega Superspeedway, stands in his way.

NASCAR’s biggest and fastest track has been a letdown historically for the 31-year-old. Adding to that is a precarious placement on the points table; Larson must be on his toes if he hopes to beat the blues this time. If he can recreate anything similar to his performance in the round of 16, the road ahead will be easy for him.

Kyle Larson is concerned about history repeating itself in Talladega

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Talladega has been the least-rewarding racetrack for Kyle Larson amid an illustrious career. In 17 starts at the speedway, the #5 Camaro driver has managed a best-place finish of 5th, which is subpar by his lofty standards. If recent races are anything to go by, Larson can only hope to grab a maiden drive through the hallowed victory lane of the Talladega Superspeedway, just like he did a few weeks earlier at the “Track Too Tough to Tame.” A car as fast as the HMS #5 also makes a strong case for that.

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Among the 12 remaining drivers eligible for the next round, Kyle Larson is sitting in the eighth spot, which is worrisome as he arrives at one of his worst tracks. Underscoring his relative failure at Superspeedways, the 2021 Cup champion revealed his biggest fear for Sunday in a conversation with Frontstretch. He said, “I mean, on paper, I’m by far the worst speedway racer in the history of Daytona and Talladega, I’m sure.”

However, stats don’t always give the whole picture. Talking about how he actually feels about his superspeedway performances, he argued, “But when you really pay attention to the race, I’m not that bad and I’ve had to convince myself on that. So I think it comes down to just one or two little bits and pieces of execution to where I’m running in the top 4 rather than 8th or 10th. But I’ve wrecked from the lead, I’ve wrecked from 4th, I’ve wrecked from 10th.

“So, I don’t know, I think eventually if you keep putting yourself up front, you’ll have good fortune work out and dodge a few wrecks. And I’m not saying that every wreck I’ve been in is other people’s fault. I’ve definitely caused a couple of my own. But, we do do a really good job, it’s just, it’s gotta work out eventually.”

With Roval up next in the schedule, no matter how Talladega turns out to be, Kyle Larson will have a chance at salvaging something more. Irrespective of that, he will be hoping to secure a spot in the last 8 with a preferred win.

Averaging below the top 25 in Talladega, Larson’s in a tough spot

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Seventeen starts on one track is a good enough sample space to describe a probable outing. Kyle Larson averages his worst finish at Talladega, with an average finishing position of 26.4. With no wins to his name on the racetrack, the #5 Chevy has only managed a top 5, and one top 10, and has led merely 43 laps on the track in his career.

Leaving aside statistics, the gods of fortune haven’t sided with him either at this track. In this year’s previous race at Talladega, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had a strong placement in P5 in Stage 1, which was an encouraging sign as he started from 9th. However, similar to the other four times, he had to park his car early due to an accident. He had to drop out of the second stage of the race.

It was also at this track that Kyle Larson had one of his worst crashes, which could have turned out to be much more damaging. Stewart-Haas Racing’s #41 driver, Ryan Preece, T-boned the #5 of the HMS driver at the track earlier this year at a speed higher than 130 miles per hour. The crash could have turned out to be his last if not for the contact occurring on the passenger side of the car.

Looking at Larson’s words, his fears about the future are understandable. Should Lady Luck stand behind his reason, he has all the right tools to make a trophy out of the opportunity.