To put it simply, it was not Kyle Larson’s day to secure another playoff victory. There is no denying the fact that Larson had the fastest car in the grid on Sunday. Although starting from the 11th position, the Hendrick Motorsports speedster methodically carved his way through the pack and led up front. The driver not only went on to win Stage 2 of the race but also maintained a lead of 4.5 seconds ahead of the second.
However, the hopes of victory turned into ashes when he got loose and slammed to the outside, thus forcing him to retire prematurely. As a result, the driver sits just two points above the cutline as NASCAR heads toward Talladega for the second race of Round of 12. However, it seems that a steep mountain lies ahead of Larson as a NASCAR insider issues a warning to the driver.
NASCAR Insider states his stance on Kyle Larson
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With just 23 laps to go, JJ Yeley spinning on the track led to the issuance of caution, as a result of which, Larson was found leading the pack alongside the polesitter Bubba Wallace. However, as the cars entered Turn 1, Larson found himself losing control of his car as he rammed into the outside wall with high impact. That resulted in a dismal finish to the race as he failed to score the 300th win for the team, ultimately finishing 31 on Sunday.
Although there is still a chance of redemption that awaits the driver, as NASCAR heads toward the last two races of the Round of 12, the last two tracks that are set to host the races have been unfavorable to Larson, especially the Talladega Superspeedway. The driver in the spring race had survived a harrowing car accident also involving Ryan Preece.
Moreover, the driver has only scored two top 20 in the last five races. As a result, Larson finds himself in a tough spot for the next stage of qualifications.
To which Steve Letarte in an interview with NBC expressed, “The one driver that we are going talk about all weekend long is Kyle Larson who is the fastest in Texas and got in a wreck. You are gonna wonder at Talladega if they wish they would have been okay with a second.”
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“I know they had a race-winning car but now they are all the way down the cutline and poor Kyle Larson, he is not a speedway guy and I don’t put that on him, I don’t think it’s his decision or his moves or just bad luck or combination of both. but Larson does not see the end of a lot of superspeedway races.”
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Moreover, the driver himself did not fail to acknowledge his superspeedway shortcomings. With over twenty career victories, Larson has never won on a superspeedway.
In an interview, the driver had once expressed, “For whatever reason, I don’t know. We talked about that this week in our team meeting. I come here with different game plans every time and I seem to always just crash myself or be right in the middle of a crash.”
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“It does get frustrating because when you put the effort in, you want to see results,” Larson said. “And maybe I have gotten better at these places but just circumstance of getting lucky and missing wrecks and stuff I haven’t done a good enough job [of]. But it’s just a totally different style of racing and one I guess I’m not comfortable with.”
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Having said that, it is to be seen if Kyle Larson is able to alter his fate or if will he suffer the fate of Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano for the next two races, or will be able to end the curse on Sunday.