Kyle Larson’s bid to sweep the weekend in Bristol ended right on Friday as he failed to beat Chandler Smith to the finish line in the Craftsman Truck Series race. However, he bounced back from the disappointment and won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday. He did not have rave reviews about the trucks following the first two days of racing.
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Citing the fact that he led 277 of 300 laps in Xfinity and none in Trucks, Larson was asked what it was about the Xfinity Series cars that made him so dominant in them. He said, “The Xfinity car just has power. The truck is a turd. It is so slow and it has no power. So, everybody ends up at the same speed. Similar to Cup [Series].”
He went on to clarify that the Next Gen did have power, but then it was not like the Xfinity Series car, which has the added aspects of better deceleration, acceleration, and other such factors. He drew a strong conclusion by stating that the Xfinity Series car felt more like “home” to him.
These are powerful words from the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver in an atmosphere where more and more fans are being drawn to the thrill of the Xfinity Series more than the Cup Series. Perhaps Larson would demand that Mr. Hendrick let him race in the Xfinity Series more frequently. But then again, people will not be fond of seeing him in Victory Lane every weekend.
How is Larson’s attempt to sweep Bristol going?
On Friday, Larson was beaten by Chandler Smith. A restart came late in the race on Lap 244 of 250. Larson had 27-lap fresher tires and had every advantage in the book to win the race. However, Smith had the lead and he maintained it till the end. The final seven-lap dash ended with Smith reaching the checkered flag 0.934 seconds ahead of Larson.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver came home in second place and was glad with it. He said, “We had a little bit of an advantage to get toward the front. I thought it would be more of an advantage than it was. But still, I think it was a benefit to our race… Still, to get to second is good.”
He took the frustration and converted it into torque power on Saturday. He beat Carson Kvapil to the checkered flag by 2.054 seconds and was one of the 12 cars on the lead lap. He honored the late Jon Edwards by paying the win as tribute to him. Edwards was a close friend and his PR representative. He passed away in the week leading up to the Bristol weekend.
