Hendrick Motorsports Veteran Hints Doubt in Their Playoff Ace Amid Return of Troubles

The tale of Kyle Larson in the NASCAR playoffs is perhaps the best example of how harsh NASCAR can be. Despite his prime performance throughout the year and the exemplary skill he showed in the first stage in the postseason, he could now miss out on the round of 8. The speed with which Larson’s #5 Camaro cruised through the many tracks in America was slowed down by the last two races at Texas and Talladega.

Going to the Roval, Larson has been put in a very tough corner. Talking on his DirtyMo Media podcast, Hendrick Motorsports legend Steve Letarte reflected on it and voiced his take on the driver’s chances.

Steve Letarte doesn’t believe Kyle Larson would surprise fans at the Roval

Before the playoffs began, it was everyone’s awareness that drivers had to be at their best at every single hurdle that came up. Larson seemed to be in the know of that initially as he conquered Darlington and put up top-5 finishes in Kansas and Bristol. But what followed was a P31 at Texas and a P15 in Talladega. While his result at the latter could be owed to a last-minute crash, Texas was a race that he ought to have won. As he led the grid, a late tire slip had turned villain for him at the Wild West and cost him a glorious opportunity at winning.

The series of unfortunate events shoved him down the ladder and he currently sits at the 7th spot in the standings, margining Brad Keselowski who has the final spot. As he heads to the Roval in such dire conditions, the words from Steve Letarte can’t possibly put a lot of confidence in the driver. With the podcast crew including “Professor” and “Chopper” sitting down to make predictions for the upcoming race, they discussed the chances of Larson.

Expressing that Larson might not be a surprise winner, the ex-crew chief said, “Larson’s a bit of a surprise. You know he qualifies well. He runs well. I don’t know, maybe I’m not giving him enough credit.” The “Professor” was taken aback by the view of Letarte as he mentioned how Larson had won at road courses on 4 occasions. He retorted, “Yeah, well he’s won at the Roval, he’s a four-time road course winner. So I don’t know how you don’t put him up there.”

It could be the view of many that Larson’s failures in Talladega and Texas were more of fate intervening than his own doing. But should he fail at the Roval, there will be no point to that argument. Despite Letarte’s opinions, Larson’s history at the track does offer a light of hope for Rick Hendrick’s #5 team.

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The Hendrick Motorsports star’s past records offer a view of the light at the end of the tunnel

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Back in 2021, Larson won at the Charlotte Roval and went on to win his maiden Cup Series championship. He also has the third-highest wins on road courses among all Hendrick Motorsports drivers—past and present. In his 4 starts at the Roval, Larson has led 60 laps. All these facts hint at one thing: Larson’s potential to emerge winner at the track. Nevertheless, the #5 driver appears to be aware of his past mistakes as well, before he heads to Charlotte.

Talking to WCNC’s Ashley Stroehlein, Larson said, “I like the Roval. I think it’s fun. It is a sketchy cut-off race. Yeah, I feel like I have got caught up in more mess than I have clean finishes. But we did win there a couple of years ago. So, I know we can have a good run again.” 

Hoping that he manages to not crash like he did last year, Larson wished that he would make it to the next round. Larson also acknowledged that they would probably be aiming at stage points more so than at the win, in order to fix their spot in the next round. With strategies brewing at the table of the #5 crew, the same can be expected from the other camps too. This weekend’s race will decide if Larson is a good enough driver to be among the 2023 elite. Let us know what you think of his chances, in the comments below!

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