DARLINGTON, S.C.: Kyle Larson gave it everything he had to try and put his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team in Victory Lane for a second time this season, but a loose race car in the closing laps of Sunday’s Goodyear 400 forced him to settle for his second runner-up finish of 2021.
Larson was fast throughout Darlington’s 293-lap race and while his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro made steady gains throughout the race and quickly rebounded from a speeding penalty assed during Stage 1.
Floating near the top-five throughout Stage 2, the Elk Grove, Calif. native put the pressure on the front-runners during a caution-free stage 3.
Hovering inside the top-five for much of the final stage, Larson was able to make time up on leader Martin Truex Jr. who had dominated much of the race’s 400-mile event.
After pitting for the final time inside 30 laps from the checkered flag, Larson found himself on the rear bumper on Truex’s Toyota but despite a gallant effort could not find himself able to make the pass and clearly take the lead away from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
Larson attempted to make one last charge within the final 10 laps of the race, but his race car became looser the deeper into run while Truex escaped with a 2.571 gap at the checkered flag.
“It was fun,” said Larson of his day. “It definitely took a handful of laps to get used to. I was going down the straightaway and then everybody was lifting a lot sooner than I thought I needed to, and so I adjusted to them and backed my entry up and I felt like I got a little bit better loading into the corners then. And then the exit was sliding around a lot.
“A lot of fun. I don’t remember honestly how the high downforce was because I didn’t get to run here last year, but it was fun to be here during the day, my first daytime Cup race here, so it was cool to do that, and yeah, had a lot of fun slipping and sliding.”
Still, for Larson – the performance was satisfying – a rebound from an assured top-10 at Kansas Speedway lost on a late race restart and a spell of three races of 18th or worse.
“We definitely needed to get a good finish,” added Larson. “I thought we were going to get one last week and I messed that up. Three bad weeks in a row, and to come back and contend for a win and finish second and get good stage points after speeding at the end of the first stage, too, yeah, it was a good day.
“Now we go to Dover, which is one of if not my best tracks. Excited about that, and Hendrick Motorsports has been pretty good at Dover from what I remember, too, so looking forward to getting there.”
With an average finish of 13.9, Larson believes his Cliff Daniels led team is one of the top-three Cup Series teams on the circuit approaching the halfway mark.
“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re top three. We’re one of the top three teams out there, so I’m happy with that,” he said. “We’ve been really good to start the year and meshing very well as a team. Really enjoy working with cliff and everybody on the 5 car, and I think we’re just going to continue to grow.
“Our pit crew has been doing an awesome job. Everybody at the shop has been doing great. You look at all four of our teammates, with myself included, and we’ve been really good.
Happy about it, and looking forward to building from where we’re at.”
Looking ahead, Larson, 28, is looking forward to his first race with Hendrick Motorsports at Dover (Del.) International Speedway next week, a track that suits his driving style and is a former Cup winner.
“I’m pumped to get there,” says Larson who owns nine top-10s in 12 Monster Mile starts. “I think it’s this aero package maybe, too. Yeah, Dover is just an awesome place, suits my style. Can move around quite a bit. It’s fast, aggressive, and I love it. Ready to get there, and hopefully be one spot better.”
Good finish or not next weekend at Dover, Larson has obviously excelled in his short stint with Hendrick Motorsports so far. Of course, everyone expected the team to win – but the type of performances the seven-time Cup Series winner has been able to produce in just 12 races may be a surprise to some.
For Larson it’s not and he credits the strength and the ability of his No. 5 team led by Daniels.
“I just think I’ve got a great group of people around me throughout all of Hendrick Motorsports but especially on our 5 car,” sounded Larson. “Their preparation is something that is pretty awesome to see, and I feel like I’m putting in a lot of work off the track, too, to get myself up to speed with no practice and things like that.”
And without the luxury of practice and the ability to dial their car in better – Larson believes the lack of track time has played into his hands.
“Honestly probably no practice benefits me a little bit, just from being able to adapt quickly and not giving myself an opportunity to tune ourselves out with any bad feedback.
“It’s been really fun to be this good this early on in the year, and like I said earlier, I hope we can just continue to build on it and get better and be the best when it comes to the final 10 races.”
Larson’s strong day on Sunday also propelled him three spots in the championship standings from ninth to sixth.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
