Kyle Larson calls for a ‘better’ NASCAR weekend after disappointing showing at Darlington

Following a lacklustre weekend at Darlington Raceway, which resulted in a P19 finish, Kyle Larson believes that better things are yet to come. He is especially optimistic about his upcoming race at World Wide Technology Raceway, scheduled for this coming Sunday, September 7.

Larson took part in a Goodyear tire test at WWT back in June. With Brad Keselowski representing Ford and Erik Jones representing Toyota, Larson is the only playoff driver to have run laps at the motor racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis.

So, Larson is now confident about the left and right-side tire combination that NASCAR plans on implementing at WWT, which they introduced at Iowa Speedway earlier this year.

“We had a great test at Gateway earlier this year that led us down a different path with our short-track program,” Larson said in a statement. “We feel we have learned some things that have made that program a little bit better since then.”

“We should be more competitive and at least start the weekend better than we have. If we can be good at Gateway, that will give us some confidence going to Phoenix,” he added.

In three starts at World Wide Technology Raceway, Kyle Larson has one top-five and one top-10. He has led laps in his last two races at the 1.25-mile asphalt oval. His fourth start at WWT will also mark his 28th race of the season, giving him a shot at his 33rd victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at the same time.

Named Enjoy Illinois 300, the 240-lap race will stream live on USA (3 pm ET onwards). Fans can also listen to its exclusive radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Kyle Larson reflects on “rewarding” point status following Darlington outing

Kyle Larson has previously won at Darlington Raceway, besides having led 1,048 laps in 15 starts there. However, things didn’t go in his favor last Sunday, and the Hendrick Motorsports driver had to settle for what was his third finish of 19th or worse in his last five starts.

But the good thing is that he was able to get early-stage points. Currently, he sits third in the championship standings with a 38-point cushion on the cutoff line.

“It was a good thing we were able to get those stage points early,” Kyle Larson said after the race. “I felt pretty average all night. We had a lot of stack-ups on the restarts. I’m not sure why, but we had a big one there in the final stage and we just struggled after that.“

“We also had radio issues and all sorts of other problems, so to have a bad race and still gain on the cutline is rewarding,” he added.

Having said that, all eyes are now on World Wide Technology Raceway, which will host the second race of the playoffs. If Larson wins it, he will straightaway qualify for the Round of 12, which kicks off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 21.