One of the big questions going into the 2021 NASCAR season is whether Kyle Larson can get back to winning ways this season itself. He will make his NASCAR comeback with one of the biggest teams, driving the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports.
Many would argue that the question should be how many races before Larson bags that win, rather than whether or not he bags it. Larson has much stronger equipment now, and some of the early races on the calendar itself would interest the 28-year-old to get that ‘monkey off his back.’
The season, of course, starts with the Daytona 500, where he has two consecutive top-five finishes and three in all, already. Moreover, it is an iconic race that every single driver aspires to win, and Larson is a contender to win most races more often than not.
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Initial races on the 2021 schedule bode well for Kyle Larson
The third race of the season is to take place at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Larson has a pretty good record, with three top-five finishes in his last five races.
Last year in Miami, Chase Elliott and William Byron finished in second and ninth place, respectively, in Hendrick cars, and Goodyear intends to deploy the same tire this year in Miami.
This holds the Hendrick drivers in good stead at the track this time as they showed last year that they can run well with the cars and combination they had. Larson could target that race as well for his seventh Cup win.
The next race of the 2021 season is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, another track where Larson has historically done well. In his last six races there, Larson has finished outside the top-10 on just one occasion, and has three of those finishes inside the top-five.
Then comes the Phoenix Raceway, where Larson has three top-three finishes in his last four races. His fourth-place finish last year there was his best among the only NASCAR races he ran all year.
Who else is ready to see @KyleLarsonRacin hit the track in 2021? 🙌 pic.twitter.com/AMkCTID5VC
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) January 2, 2021
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The ‘King of dirt races’ eagerly awaits Bristol
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After Phoenix, Larson will have to wait for just a couple of more weeks before the much-awaited Bristol dirt race. Kyle Larson is considered by many as one of the best dirt track racers of this era, and he would be an overwhelming favorite in NASCAR’s first dirt race in over 50 years.
Officially ready for 2021. 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/QU6GIfrVdk
— No. 5 Team (@Hendrick5Team) December 21, 2020
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What all of this shows is that things are placed quite well for Larson to bag that elusive NASCAR Cup win. It would not be surprising to see Larson in Victory Lane quite early in his debut year with Hendrick Motorsports.