Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson recently spoke on how NASCAR has been attracting international talent of late, especially from the Australian Supercars series. The 2021 Cup Series champion recently spoke about the competitive levels of drivers from ‘down under’ during their stock car racing tenures.
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In a recent press conference leading up to this Sunday’s Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, Larson addressed the talent levels of these foreign drivers compared to Cup Series regulars, especially on road course events. He said: “Those guys have more experience doing this. Even though this is their first race in a Cup car, they’re still more experienced than us. You can learn from that experience and become better, so I think it’s good.”
Eyes on the top spot. pic.twitter.com/reWB3SfRPF
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) June 8, 2024
Larson also acknowledged Shane van Gisbergen’s maiden win in the Cup Series as the Kiwi driver made his debut in the sport and added, “Especially with Shane and how he smoked us at Chicago last year. I get excited now when you have other guys come in and get to race with us. We can kind of not only see how we compare against them, but it’s an opportunity for us to all get better and look at different areas on how we can improve our skill sets.”
The #5 Chevrolet driver’s thoughts about ‘outsiders’ in the sport seem to have been proven further as Gisbergen managed to win his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series race this weekend in wine country after an outing at Portland Raceway last Sunday.
Kyle Larson opines on Sonoma Raceway’s new surface
With the venue for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race having received a repave, drivers have had varied thoughts on what the race could look like on Sunday. Hometown hero Larson spoke about the same during a press conference and said, “I think there’s still always tire management. Maybe before it was more managing the heat and wear.”
He added, “Now, we’re probably just more, we’re doing it the same way. You’re not wearing the tire; you’re just managing the heat. To me, I don’t foresee a stint to look much different in how you approach your driving technique.”
It remains to be seen how the resurfaced Sonoma Raceway reacts to the Next Gen NASCAR Cup car’s racing product, which has always been hit or miss depending upon conditions of the track ever since its debut in 2022.
