Kyle Larson’s Bitter Roval History Bites Back as Rick Hendrick’s Champion Dream Under Huge Threat

After what was a disappointing season, Rick Hendrick’s team seemed to have found their groove in the Cup Series playoffs. Kyle Larson was one of the standout performers of the round of 16 and William Byron won his sixth race this year in the round of 12. It seemed like HMS would have both of their playoff drivers in the final four. But things have taken a sudden turn for the worse, specifically for Kyle Larson.

The 2021 Cup Series champion has been in good form this season. He has three race wins under his belt and is considered one of the strongest title contenders. After Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman failed to make it to the playoffs, Rick Hendrick put a lot of faith in Larson. But the #5 driver’s recent revelation has probably brought those expectations crashing down as he runs the risk of elimination.

Kyle Larson has a lot of challenges to overcome at Charlotte

After two poor results in Texas and Talladega, Kyle Larson finds himself only two places and 15 points above the cutline going into Charlotte. 15 points sounds like a lot, but here’s the kicker. Larson crashed the #5 car during practice at the Roval. His team could not get his car fixed in time for qualifying and he will start the race from the back.

Meanwhile, two drivers who will be fiercely racing to get into the playoffs, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, are starting from P1 and P4, respectively. Kyle Larson could not have found himself in a worse position. According to the 2021 Cup Series champion, stage points are out of the window. The only thing he can do is gun for the win!

“I don’t think you can go for stage points from 40th (actually 37th),” Larson said about his race strategy. “The silver lining may be that you can short the stages (by pitting early) and get your track position that way to be up front at the end of the race. I think that would be the plan, I guess, going forward,” Larson said in a pre-race interview.

The strategy sounds all well and good, but the problem with that is he is going to have to overtake some extremely tough competition. Undercutting would be the way to go for HMS man. But his biggest problem lies at the front of the pack.

Tyler Reddick, who is a master of road courses, is starting from pole position and he is not going to give away his track position to anyone. The 23XI Racing man is behind the cutline and will be desperate for a win to confirm his place in the next round. However, this poses a risk to Rick Hendrick’s team.

Read More – Rick Hendricks Former Champion in Deep Trouble As Slump Gets Deeper After Enthralling Start to the Playoffs

It is important to note that Kyle Larson has won a race at the Roval before, so he knows how to get the job done. The problem is that he did not have to do it from this far back in the pack, and the #5 driver admitted that things are quite tough on the Roval. With an erratic record, will this strategy work for him?

HMS man admits to making mistakes as inconsistent record shows

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In another pre-race interview, the driver of the #5 said that while it was a fun place to come and race, he had made mistakes before. Apart from his one win in 2021, Kyle Larson has never finished in the top 10. So he isn’t the most consistent.

“It’s just a tough place. It’s been — I don’t know. I’ve just had some mistakes here, I guess. But still a fun place, and I enjoy coming to it,” Rick Hendrick’s title favorite said as per ‘Racing America’.

Things will be tight as far as Kyle Larson is concerned. It will be quite interesting to see how the #5 team will strategize from the back of the pack. Where do you think the 2021 Cup Series champion will finish? Let us know your thoughts.

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