Daytona Beach, Florida (AP) – Owen Larson called him when he said that his father would not win the Daytona 500 because “he probably needs to try very hard because he is not good in superspeedway Racing. “
The 10 -year -old man was right in his assessment. Kyle Larson can win anywhere in any type of car. But with regard to Daytona and Talladega, the champion of the Nascar 2021 Cup series is a disaster.
Larson fell at 0 for 22 at Daytona International Speedway – it is 0 for 42 in the Cup series once Talladega Superspeedway statistics are included – when he finished 20th in Daytona 500 on Sunday evening.
The Associated Press was integrated into the Hendrick Motorsports n ° 5 team with a headquarters in the front row for its 201 frustrating towers in which Larson complained above his radio that “I make all the bad movements. Any movement I make is the bad.
His exacerbation only went up when his three Hendrick teammates led Tours, William Byron won for a second consecutive year, and Byron and Alex Bowman finished inside the Top Six. Chase Elliott was 15th.
Jeff Gordon, vice-president of Hendrick Motorsports and triple winner of Daytona 500, did not dispute the concept of Larson not to be able to navigate properly in the typical pack race of Daytona International Speedway.
“I noticed this,” he said about Larson’s statement that he couldn’t make a single blow. “I can be hard with him because I like Kyle and I think he is incredible.”
Larson is incredible and opened 2025 with a multitude of victories, including in sprint cars in Australia, Chile Bowl and the Volusia Speedway at the head of Daytona 500.
But, just as his eldest son had predicted it, he was a non-factor in Daytona despite all the efforts of the motivation team, Cliff Daniels, tried his driver. The two have been twinned since Larson moved to Hendrick and team n ° 5 in 2021 and won 10 races and the title of the Cup.
Larson has won 23 cutting races since his move to Hendrick, and for that, leadership at Hendrick is able to give him a pass on his difficulties in Superspeedways.
“My God, the guy is not perfect,” said Gordon, but added that his difficulties have now become greater than not being able to feel confident in Daytona or Talladega.
“I think now I’m starting to see that it is putting in his head. I had some conversations with him, and like: “Dude, go ahead, forget him, don’t even try to think too much”, “said Gordon.” I don’t know what advice to give him otherwise than- Everything I said to him today is “just be Kyle Larson. Success.
Byron quickly pointed out that not winning the opening race of the season little means for Larson in the big scheme of things. The following month includes Cup races in Phoenix, where Larson won the race to win the 2021 championship, and Las Vegas, where two of his three career victories won the last three visits to the desert track.
“Wait until we arrive in Vegas, and he will tear himself away,” said Byron.
Larson’s difficulties in Daytona could be attributed to its early XFINITY series on the track. He sailed in the fence and destroyed his car in a scary accident for a driver who had skyrocketed Sprint Cars at the highest level of racing in the United States. Although he won the Xfinity race in 2018, he was never really a factor in Daytona 500, where he fell at 0 for 12 in “The Great American Race”.
Larson thinks that his CV in career would be well without a victory by Daytona 500. He won all the other jewels of the Crown: the Nascar stars race in 2019, 2021 and 2023; 2021 Coca-Cola 600; 2023 Southern 500; and 2024 Brickyard 400.
“Like, I’m not going to lose sleep if I never win this race, but I always want to win the race and have this ring and this trophy and be one of the names that won it”, Larson says. “But again, I think there are a lot of others, much more that takes place in victory and a lot of luck. This is not a big problem.
Gordon said Larson and Daniels have a lot to make success on superspeedways.
“He is a head of the head for sure, because he and cliff and the whole team,” said Gordon. “But I’m sure they’ll understand it.”
Owen Larson, perhaps the hardest critic of his father, does not agree. Until her father improves, her eldest child believes that Daytona will always be a fight for Larson.
“He must try stronger,” said Owen Larson. And which specific area? “Probably written.”
Maybe Larson should follow his son’s advice before Nascar arrived in Talladega later this spring.
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AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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