Kyle Larson is preparing for a challenge this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He will take on races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Cup Series. The hope is that he will become the only driver alongside Kyle Busch to sweep a triple-header weekend. But what is the purpose of having this dream?
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The 1.5-mile oval in Florida has been one of Larson’s favorite tracks. He performs extremely well on it and has five top-5 finishes in eleven starts to prove the same. But what he has lacked are victory lane visits. For a venue that seems to be built to match his best talents, Homestead-Miami has given him just one Cup Series win and one Xfinity Series win over the years.
In 2023, he was in active pursuit of the race leader Ryan Blaney. Going to pit road, Blaney slowed down more than Larson anticipated. Larson swerved to the right, trying to avoid crashing into Blaney’s car, and hit the sand barrels. He suffered extensive damage to his car as a result and had to retire despite having the speed to finish up front.
Something similar happened in 2024. He challenged Blaney for the lead with 13 laps to go when they approached Austin Dillon, the last driver on the lead lap. Larson tried squeezing in between Blaney and Dillon but spun without enough space to go on. He ended up in 13th place. It goes without saying that he doesn’t have the best feeling about both of these incidents.
He told NBC Sports in a recent interview, “I feel like … all but two or three races at Homestead, I felt like we had the best car, the best chance of winning, and we don’t have the wins to show for it.” This weekend is an opportunity to rectify this imbalance. He aims to approach tricky instances with care.
No one does it better than Larson in Miami
The highest racing line, closest to the SAFER barrier, is a unique tool drivers use in Homestead-Miami to build up speed. It takes a special skill to ride so close to the wall without making contact. Not surprisingly, Larson is quite adept at this. He has gained a strong reputation as one of the best wall riders on the field over the past few years.
He said in 2023, “It seems to be how I’ve figured out how to go fast here. You have to be comfortable against the wall and I know there’s a lot of drivers that aren’t that comfortable against it. So that gives guys like myself and (Tyler) Reddick an advantage when we come here.” The pat on the back for Reddick was entirely worthy.
The 23XI Racing driver has won two Xfinity Series championships that were decided in Homestead-Miami. Larson will need to put this skill to the maximum use this weekend. To sweep a triple-header weekend will catapult his legacy to further heights. At the end of the day, that’s all a driver with his caliber wants.
