"That’s what makes me not love it" - HMS' Kyle Larson shares dislike for Daytona racing

HMS driver Kyle Larson recently spoke about his dislike for racing at the prestigious Daytona International Speedway, the "mecca" of NASCAR. Larson believes the best might not necessarily win at Daytona and the victor usually has luck on their side.

With NASCAR preparing for the last two races of the regular season, Larson opened up on competing in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race this Sunday. When asked about what comes to his mind when he hears Daytona, Larson didn't hesitate in saying the word that every professional racer despises - "Crashes"

In a recent interview, Stuart Webber, a sports reporter said everyone wants to drive through the victory lane at Daytona but it's not always won by the best drivers. 32-year-old Larson concurred to the same:

"Yeah, and that's what kind of gets me not really loving that place, is that, you know, the best driver and the best team most times doesn't win. It's usually, you know, not usually, but most of the time I feel like it's the luckiest driver and the luckiest team that wins. But I've also not never won there. So that's maybe, you know, having bias probably." [1:50]

Larson is a full-time Cup Series driver for Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the #5 Chevy Camaro. The 2021 Cup Series champion is this season's win leader, with four triumphs to his name. Moreover, he has accumulated nine top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 23 starts this season.

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"It's super tight right now" - Kyle Larson painted the playoff picture in his own words

It's just two races before NASCAR reaches the 2024 playoff rounds. Larson, who has comfortably booked his berth in the playoff with four wins, stands P3 in the overall Cup Series points table.

In the aforementioned conversation, #5 driver Larson discussed how the battle for the number one spot for the regular season championship is closely knitted. He said:

"It's super tight right now for the regular season championship and getting those 15 bonus points. So, the top four, myself, Reddick, Chase, Denny, it's really any of any of our opportunity to get those bonus points. So, just trying to be as consistent as possible. They're all extremely good teams and good drivers and performing at high levels right now." [4:01]

"So, yeah, just got to take advantage of these next few weeks and try and not make teaming mistakes and try and gain as many points as we possibly can," he added.

As things stand, Joe Gibbs' Denny Hamlin is out of the top four that Larson mentioned. He was handed an L2 penalty by NASCAR for engine inspection violations. As a result, Hamlin has now slipped from P3 to P6 in the points table

Currently, the top three drivers competing for the regular season championship are Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Larson.