Kyle Larson has come a long way since his early days in the NASCAR Cup Series. From starting out as a promising talent with Chip Ganassi Racing to now making a strong case for himself as one of the sport’s modern greats, Larson is looking to win his second Cup title this year, In fact, he could very well be regarded as one of the best racecar drivers on the current grid. Don’t believe us? Just ask Kyle Busch.
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But while one Kyle is in awe of the other Kyle, is the other Kyle in awe of Kyle as well?
Recently, while speaking about his overall development as a driver and how the use of data had become significant in recent years, Kyle Larson was asked if he was studying Kyle Busch’s data more since Busch made the switch to the Chevy camp.
Kyle Larson talks about looking at Kyle Busch’s data
After the question about whether he is studying Busch’s data, Larson subsequently responded, “I wouldn’t say I look at his stuff anymore or less than I used to. But maybe now that I can see his data, I can understand that our cars drive more similar now than when we were at different organizations.”
“So, we can talk about it and debrief about it a little bit more and understand what he is talking about a little better. Kyle Busch is one of the top drivers in this sport, so I was always looking at his stuff before, and I am still looking at it now.”
Obviously, having drivers with the same manufacturers helps when it comes to strategizing for the upcoming races. But considering both of them are competing against each other in the playoffs, one can assume that Busch would be so comfortable with sharing his data with Larson.
Regardless, Larson may not need the data considering his growth at Hendrick in the last two years.
Larson explains how his time at Hendrick has made him a better driver
During the same interview, the interviewer asked Larson about his performance improvement over the years, specifically since he joined Hendrick Motorsports. He responded by stating that he was not sure how things would be if he was still with Ganassi. However, he acknowledged that they now have access to a lot more data than they did a few years ago. The 2021 Cup Series champion also mentioned that he might still be doing all the pre-race preparations that he does now, even if he was still with Ganassi.
He added, “It could be the same because you have the data. You have so much more data and I think Cliff and the engineers are so good at looking at the data and kind of coaching me through how I can be better, things I am doing good at and keep after.”
Larson concluded, stating that he was not particularly sure about how he had evolved and believed that one just evolves naturally over time. He emphasized how most of the improvements for almost everyone were because of the increased inflow of data availability.
