Superspeedways Proving to Be Kryptonite to Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson is a generational talent, but when it comes to superspeedway racing the California driver has his challenges.
Currently in his 13th season in NASCAR's Cup Series, Larson has yet to secure a victory at Daytona or Talladega.
His average finish at NASCAR's two superspeedways is 21.9. He has recorded no top-five finishes at the 2.5-mile Daytona speedway and only two at the 2.66-mile Talladega track. In the top-10 category, Larson has posted five at Daytona and four at Talladega. In the DNF group, Larson owns nine at Daytona and six at Talladega.
'I think I'm starting to see it's getting in his head,' Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon said. 'I've had a few conversations with him, and like, man, just go for it, just forget about it, don't try to even overthink it. I don't know what advice to give him other than … just be Kyle Larson. Don't try to be something you're not. Don't look at what somebody else is doing that's having success. Just go out there and execute, and the other things will turn around and come your way eventually.'
Larson, who finished 20th in this year's Daytona 500, said he knew the decisions he made in the season opener weren't always the correct ones.
'Sometimes you just have races that go that way,' Larson said. 'Sometimes you know every decision you make isn't the right one and sometimes you can't miss.
'I look at the first Stage. The 12 (Ryan Blaney) didn't do anything special. He literally stayed in one lane the whole time and it just kept advancing. So, the next run I decided I was going to stay in one lane and it didn't go anywhere. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. Even in William's (Byron) case, he got shuffled behind me before the crash on the backstretch that I got caught up in.
'The last few years, even though I haven't won or finished well, I feel like we've done well and made right decisions to get into the picture at the end. The (Daytona) 500 wasn't one of those.'
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