KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) – Kyle Larson had a busy start to May on a small dirt road around a bend in the Missouri River, starting his sprint car outside the top 10 and finishing Friday night. By then, he had managed to rise to 3rd place. Larson hopes to make history by the end of this month. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion aims to join Tony Stewart as the only drivers to ever complete the ‘double’ by completing the entire lap of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. There is. Several people have attempted this over the years, most recently Kurt Busch in 2014, but the challenge turns out to be one of the toughest in all of motorsport. “I mean, I’m definitely excited,” Larson said Saturday, just before getting into the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car and qualifying for the Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. “At the same time, I’m not overly worried. I think we’ve known it was coming for a few years, but we just have to be ready to start going out there.”
Larson also said he hasn’t thought much about Memorial Day weekend yet. First of all, there is a lot to do in the race.
He will race his sprint car again Saturday night at nearby Lakeside Speedway, looking to improve on his result at Kansas State a year ago Sunday. There, Denny Hamlin pushed him away on the final lap to secure the victory. Larson also has a NASCAR recap weekend scheduled at Darlington, with another sprint car race scheduled for May 13 at Kokomo Speedway in Indiana, and the night before for Indy 500 practice. Enter Arrow McLaren. “We’re starting to see what’s going to happen,” Larson admitted. “I had to go through rookie orientation for the first time, and when I got there, the first thing I thought was, ‘Oh my God (expletive), I’m in an IndyCar now.’ But… Ever since then, I’ve been thinking, ‘You are.”’ Okay, I’m a little bit ready to start. ”
Larson already won the Cup Series at Las Vegas in March and has five top-five finishes in the series, including a second-place finish at Dover last weekend. He led at least one lap in eight races, and his 570 laps led were 35 more than any other driver. This consistency has helped Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing dominate the Cup Series this season. With Hendrick winning five and Hamlin giving Gibbs his fourth win last week at Dover, it’s hard to believe these two powerhouse teams won’t be back on top Sunday. They have the most road wins with eight. Hamlin is definitely looking forward to another duel. Especially when things go the way they did in the spring race in Kansas a year ago. “It was a tough battle,” he recalls. “We were two of the best. So he took the lead and I remember chasing him down when he got loose towards the end. But it’s one race after another. There is no going back. We have a different car and new tires for this race. I can’t think of much other than how to attack this truck to increase its speed. ”
CHARTER CHATTER
Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing along with Michael Jordan, lamented the state of charter negotiations Saturday. Charters provide guaranteed starting spots and other financial benefits to their owners, but are due to expire after 2024. Owners want them to become permanent, so they can more easily attract long-term sponsors and investors. They also want more revenue, a bigger voice in NASCAR decisions and a share of new business opportunities, such as gambling revenue.
“Why is this such an important thing?” Hamlin asked. “We’ve had 11 teams go out of business since 2016. That’s not good. And certainly if we continue on the trend of a couple stakeholders doing really well and others not, that will continue.”
BACK IN THE SADDLE
Jimmie Johnson will be driving the No. 84 car for Legacy Motor Club for the second straight week as part of his abbreviated Cup Series schedule. The three-time Kansas winner finished 28th at the Daytona 500, 29th at Texas and 28th last week at Dover.
“This year has been more challenging for us in a lot more ways that we anticipated,” Johnson admitted, “but I do think we’re getting closer to a consistent pace that we hope to have week-in and week-out.”
FORD’S FOCUS
The season has so far been dominated by Chevrolet and Toyota, leaving Ford still looking for its first Cup Series win. But its cars were fast at Talladega, and Noah Gragson and Ryan Blaney finished sixth and seventh last week at Dover.
“Right now our program, I feel — if we were an 18th-place team last year, I think we’re closer to a 10th-place team,” said Gragson’s crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer. “And 10th-place teams can win races.”
ODDS AND ENDS
Hamlin is the 9-2 favorite to win, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Larson and William Byron are next with 5 wins and 1 loss. … Ricky Stenhouse Jr. signed a multi-year contract extension this week to continue driving the No. 47 car for JTG Dougherty Racing. … Corey Haim will once again drive the No. 43 car in place of Erik Jones, who has been cleared by NASCAR to return but will need to miss another week to recover from his accident at Talladega, in which Jones suffered a compression fracture in his back.
