Kyle Larson Stresses on Realistic Finish as NASCAR Regular Season Nears Conclusion, Highlights One Key Priority

Srijan Mandal | 16/07/2023
“Even Though We Followed NASCAR..” Why Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Run Has Been His Biggest Childhood Dream

As we inch closer to the end of the regular season, several drivers currently out of the playoff standings are visibly scrambling around to get that one chance at winning. Unsurprisingly, this is definitely not the case for Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson, as opposed to some of his teammates. Even though Larson is locked into the postseason, he is still considering finishing better and better each race.

Why you may ask? Well, it’s because of the playoff points advantage, where even a single point matters. Recently, while speaking to the press, Larson talked about his realistic chances of finishing ahead of the field with the remaining races.

Kyle Larson talks about his chances of attaining key playoff points

Speaking ahead of New Hampshire, Larson said, “At least where I’m at I think we’re getting too close to the end of the regular season for us to win it. But you know, it’s not out of reach, for us to get to third, fourth-ish. I feel like we’re all pretty tight. So every position matters, you know, for playoff points… We had four races in a row there where we had good finishes… But, if we can just rattle off some consistent races from start to finish, you can save points and get results, I think we can march forward.”

As for the race, the Hendrick driver added, “Historically, I think, from what I’ve been told in New Hampshire, it’s not like the greatest track for Hendrick motorsports. But I thought we had a good race here last year and didn’t end up as well as we’d like.”

How has Kyle Larson’s season been so far?

As far as playoff contention is considered, Larson has already secured himself for that. The #5 is the only HMS driver aside from William Bryon who currently occupies a playoff spot. Teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman languish outside of the playoff cut-offs without a single win to their names.

With the conclusion of 19 races so far, Larson has been able to score 2 wins, 9 Top-10s, 8 Top-5s, and 531 points,  although his 6 DNFs so far have him seated in the 8th position in the standings. By his own standards, Larson knows he must improve in order to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma

About the author

Avatar photo

Srijan Mandal

Srijan Mandal is the Lead NASCAR Editor and Strategist at The Sportsrush with a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of motorsports. With several thousand articles under his belt over the years, he has established himself as a leading authority on all things racing. His passion for motorsports started at a young age, and he has dedicated his career to covering the sport in all its forms. He is an expert in various disciplines, including stock car racing, American motorsports, Formula 1, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP, WRC, WEC, and several more. But Srijan's love for racing goes beyond his writing. He actively competes in professional open-wheel sim racing, using '88' as his racing number. While he mostly participates in GT Endurance classes, he also ventures into Stock Car racing from time to time. In case, you wish to contact Srijan, kindly send an email to him at [email protected] or just DM him on Twitter.