LAS VEGAS-To borrow a phrase from philosopher Rene Descartes, “the future is now” where Kyle Larson is concerned.
Never mind that Larson will race on two of his best tracks after Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Larson isn’t concentrating on Homestead-Miami Speedway (Mar. 23), where he loves to run the wall, or Martinsville Speedway (Mar. 30), statistically one of his best tracks in the Next Gen era.
He doesn’t plan to wait for a breakthrough moment until the NASCAR Cup Series has moved on from Sin City.
“I’m hoping to break through this week,” Larson said emphatically.
That’s not an unrealistic ambition for a driver who has won three of the last eight races—and two of the last three—at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Bowman also claiming victories in that eight-race span, HMS has established itself as the dominant organization at the 1.5-mile track.
Standing in Larson’s way, however, is his dirt-track rival, Christopher Bell, who brings a three-race winning streak to the Nevada desert.
Larson doesn’t resent Bell’s success—yet.
“I had a great season in 2021 and was able to win three points-paying races in a row twice that year—four in a row once with the All-Star Race in there,” Larson said. “So I think having lived through it on my own, I can respect it a lot more, and it doesn’t bother me when I see somebody else having success like that.
“If he wins this weekend, maybe it’s like ‘All right, this is getting annoying.’”
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
