DOVER, Del. – Kyle Larson had a relatively quiet day Sunday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, but when the second ever green-white-checkered came into play in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks, the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver found himself in contention.
Larson didn’t pull off the upset nor score his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory, but the sophomore driver delivered a third, his best finish of the season and more importantly a much-needed boost.”
“Really happy with how our team rebounded from last week,” said Larson. “We were terrible at Charlotte, and to get a nice run here this week is really good. We were fast throughout the track. We were good for most of the race. We got off kind of midpoint of the race and got really tight. I don’t know why. And then, yeah, we freed up a lot and got better.
“Still weren’t as good as we were in the beginning of the race there at the end, but was able to line up in the right lines it seemed like those last three restarts and gain a couple spots each time. The inside row there, that last one, spun their tires really bad and got a bad start, so we were all able to roll around them and kind of cruise to a third place finish.”
The NASCAR Next alum started the weekend on a positive note, qualifying a solid third and remained in the top-10 for much of Sunday’s race. When Kyle Busch and Brian Scott caused the fifth caution of the day, a strong performance on pit road was needed to keep Larson in the thick of the battle.
They did their job.
But, it was the caution that waved with two laps to go when A.J. Allmendinger, Greg Biffle and Casey Mears collided in Turn 3 that bunched up the field once again, opening the gate for victory.
And even though the unlikeliness that anyone would steal the lead and win away from the now 10-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson proved to be true, for Larson and his No. 42 Target team, Sunday’s effort is exactly what they need to turn the page and get their year back on track.
“Our first good run of the year,” added Larson. “Hopefully have many more. Hopefully this will kind of transition into some momentum for us, for our team, and we can start getting some more top-five(s) and top-10 finishes.”
In all retrospect, the 2015 season hasn’t lived up to the expectations of a promising rookie year for the former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion. Entering Sunday’s race, Larson had notched just three top-10 finishes.
However, with his first top-five run of the year, Larson jumped two spots in the standings to 20th and carries the momentum to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway next weekend, where the Elk Grove, California native finished fifth last June and score his second career pole last August before finishing 11th.
Larson and his team have an enormous amount of work to do if they want to have any shot of earning their way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But, sometimes it takes momentum and confidence to build performances. Martin Truex Jr. is a perfect example.
Maybe, just maybe this is the start of the Kyle Larson of 2014.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
