Kyle Larson’s stock has been soaring on track recently. He leads the drivers’ championship, has won a joint-highest three races so far, including the last one in Kansas in utterly dominant fashion. And yet, there is one area where he is lagging.
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The Hendrick Motorsports driver was talking to The Athletic recently on their 12 Questions segment and revealed his competitive side. Surprisingly, this had almost nothing to do with racing. It was related to the Driver Ambassador Program (DAP).
The DAP is an initiative by NASCAR that awards points to drivers for making media appearances and participating in other promotional activities. It then determines who receives the top rewards for their efforts. And Larson is trying to aim for the top there as well.
“I was not very competitive at all with it until recently; I did a couple longer events and crept up the leaderboard. Now I’m like, ‘Oh man, we need to do some more.’ It’s a good incentive thing NASCAR has come up with, and it’s definitely gotten the top guys more involved in trying to promote the sport,” Larson said in appreciation.
When asked about how close he was to the top, the No. 5 Chevrolet driver replied, “I’m fifth. I don’t even see what (Joey) Logano does, but he’s checked out. And Chase (Elliott), too. Like, I don’t even know where these guys come from, but they’re ahead of me. Aside from Joey, we’re all pretty close; second through seventh is close.”
This wouldn’t be news to anyone who has followed Joey Logano’s humanitarian efforts, not just to promote the sport, but also to assist during natural disasters through his foundation.
Coming back to Kyle Larson, it turns out he isn’t the only one who is just as fired up about the DAP.
Ross Chastain means business
It was actually Ross Chastain’s answers on the 12 Questions segment that compelled Larson to follow suit. The Trackhouse Racing star feels that his promotional work is now officially valued by NASCAR.
The 32-year-old was candid about his intentions, admitting that his efforts ultimately benefited him. He said, “I was already doing a lot of this stuff; now there’s just points involved. So yeah, I’m competitive. I’m putting in the work, and it helps me, it’s self-serving.”
He went on to explain how he conducts his activities well in advance of a race weekend. “I put effort into traveling and trying to promote races ahead of time. Not just always during the weekend, but traveling out a week or two ahead of time to a market. We do that on our own, and now there’s just a real, incentivized way to track it,” he added.
The DAP has undoubtedly been a welcome addition to the NASCAR ecosystem. The mutual benefits for drivers and the racing body will only help the sport become more connected to its fans.
