Perhaps Kyle Larson should rely on his instincts more often.
First off, you need to understand that Larson is an elite driver, not a “car guy.” Throughout his career, whether in a sprint car on dirt or in a NASCAR Cup Series car on pavement, Larson has expressed little interest in understanding what makes a race car work.
The construction and setup of his cars are left to others. It may be an oversimplification to say that Larson simply gets behind the wheel and drives, but that’s a close approximation of reality.
Larson can drive almost any kind of car to its full capability. His feel behind the wheel is exceptional, and his ability to seek and find the fastest racing line is an innate talent enhanced years of experience in widely diverse types of racing vehicles.
Whether to crank a round of wedge into his car or adjust tire pressures—that’s not Larson’s bailiwick. He communicates to his crew chief what his car is doing and leaves it to the crew chief to make the corresponding adjustment.
That’s what makes what happened on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway so unusual. When Larson came to pit road for his final stop on Lap 201, he was adamant that his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet needed four tires, not the right-side-only choice favored by crew chief Cliff Daniels.
“To Kyle’s credit, he made the call,” Daniels said after the race. “He knew what he wanted. He wanted four.”
With fresh tires on all four corners of his Camaro, Larson worked his way forward, aided by a rapid-fire succession of cautions. By the time he lined up for a restart on Lap 228 of 247, he was second in the running order, on the front row to the inside of pole winner Joey Logano.
Larson charged past Logano into the lead through Turns 1 and 2 and held it the rest of the way through three more restarts and two overtimes. When Larson took the checkered flag, his 51-race winless streak was over. The victory lifted Larson into second place in the Chase standings, just nine points behind top-seeded Denny Hamlin.
“He just rolled the bottom really good and cleared me, which is really surprising,” Logano said.
Clearly, four tires made the difference.
“By the time we got the track position to get back to the 22 (Logano) and the 6 (Brad Keselowski), we had the tire advantage,” Daniels said.
After the race, Larson acknowledged that overruling his crew chief wasn’t typically within his comfort zone.
“So then, yeah, his pit call was ‘We’re thinking two tires,’” Larson said. “I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want two tires.’ I’ve never been one to key up on the radio and be like, ‘This is what I’m thinking.’
“I just really felt confident in that moment. I thought I was too far back in the lineup. Basically, what happened played out. I thought there were going to be some two-tire guys in front of me. I was going to line up behind them on two tires with four tires probably right behind me. I was like, ‘Man, this is going to be tough.’
“I’m thinking four tires. Still, it’s ultimately up to him. But, yeah, he leaned into that and we took four. It ultimately paid off. Whether we won or not, I thought it was going to be a better call than taking two.”
The trophy Larson received for winning the Enjoy Illinois 300 was a tribute to Kyle Busch, created this year and named “The Rowdy Trophy,” featuring a photo of Busch’s trademark victory bow framed by St. Louis’ Gateway Arch.
Busch, whose sudden death in May shocked the sport, earned his 63rd and final Cup Series victory at WWT Raceway in 2023.
In one respect, Busch was the polar opposite of Larson. Busch was thoroughly conversant with the build and setup of his race cars, to the point of calling for specific detailed adjustments from the driver’s seat.
So perhaps Larson was channeling “Rowdy” when he keyed his radio in the final stage of Sunday’s race and insisted on four tires.
Whatever the case, Larson found his way to a place familiar to both drivers—Victory Lane.
— NASCAR News Wire —