Kyle Larson displayed a dominant performance in Bristol last weekend when he took the checkered flag. Many consider him to be the favorite for the 2024 Cup Series championship. His results suggest the same as well. However, there are a few wildcard races on the path to Phoenix that might hurdle his progress.
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For all of his incredible achievements, Larson does not have a good record in Talladega. He has never won at the track and has just one top-5 and three top-10 finishes in 19 starts there. Despite this, it is Charlotte’s Roval that he is more worried about. “I’ve had a lot of moments of stress there throughout my playoff career,” he said in a recent media interaction.
“Hopefully, we’re in a better position once we get there and can have less stress because it’s pretty stressful. It’s more stressful than Talladega, for sure.” These words don’t come without reason. During his first Roval race in 2018, he bounced his damaged car off the outside wall and narrowly passed Jeffrey Earnhardt to secure a Round of 12 spot.
He could still be feeling the tremors of the close-cut incident. Of course, none of this is going to matter if he wins at Kansas and gets himself locked into the Round of 8. But what are the chances of that happening?
Well, nothing is out of reach for Yung Money. He has won two races in the intermediate, the more recent of which came earlier this season. Victory will be every playoff driver’s hope this Sunday because of the uncertainty that comes with Talladega and the Roval. One can never anticipate what could happen and who might get caught in a wreck in those tracks.
Yung Money keeps his feet on the ground after dominating Bristol
Many people believe that Larson’s Bristol performance sent a strong message to the rest of the pack but he doesn’t believe so. Every playoff race is its own separate story and it is important to be good in every race. Slipping up in any round can lead to elimination no matter how high up the table you may sit.
“I think teams already know that we’re capable of doing it on any given weekend,” he continued. “No, it’s definitely nice to do it, but there’s also so many other great teams out there. No, I don’t think a performance like tonight just puts us as the sure favorite. It’s just hard. Every week changes in the playoffs.”
It will be interesting to see how the No. 5 team performs in the upcoming Round of 12 races. Larson has all the momentum in the world right now and will be looking forward to becoming a two-time Cup Series champion.
