Grand Larson-y: Can Kyle Larson Steal His Way Back Into The Chase?8/22/2014 |
It’s not too difficult to spot Kyle Larson on the race track
on any given weekend. He can be found in
the No. 42 red and white Target Chevrolet, the car which he pilots for the
Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates team. That, however, is not what makes him easy to
spot. Larson has quickly made a name for
himself in this sport, winning on both the Camping World Truck Series and
Nationwide Series levels, and competing for the Sprint Cup Series Rookie Of The Year title, a battle which he currently leads by 47
points over Austin Dillon. Larson, a California native who came up through the ranks
driving karts and sprint cars, found his big opportunity while driving in the
K&N Pro Series East division, which is often an early career step. As a development driver for Ganassi Racing,
Larson was also in the NASCAR Drive For Diversity
program, running laps for Rev Racing.
After securing the Pro Series East Championship in 2012, Larson ran some
ARCA races and focused mainly on the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where he runs
the No. 32 for Turner Scott Motorsports.
While getting more and more experience on tracks he’d hope to run more
on in the future, opportunity came knocking once again. Ganassi and Juan Pablo Montoya, then driver of the No. 42,
had decided after a few years and a few road course wins that they would part
ways. This left the seat of the No. 42
open, and almost no one waiting in the wings to take over the reins. Enter Kyle Larson. The decision to cut Larson’s development short in the
Nationwide Series and enter him into the Cup Series full time was one over which
Chip Ganassi took a lot of heat. There
were many who said that Larson wasn’t ready, and pointed to the abbreviated
careers of other drivers who were brought up to the premier series before an
appropriate learning time in the development series. But Larson was up for the challenge. He had already scored his first victory in
the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2013, and as this season progressed,
Larson was able to score his first Nationwide Series win at Fontana. The following day in the Cup Series race,
Larson almost pulled off the greatest robbery of his young career, and very nearly
executed the weekend sweep as he finished second to Kyle Busch after a late
race restart. Since then, Larson has
secured another Nationwide series win, this one at
Charlotte. Through all of this, Larson has quickly become a fan
favorite, stealing cheers as he goes.
Everyone loves a winner, it seems, or at least until that winner wins
too much and scores six Championships.
Larson is, and has been, on the verge of winning a race since, well,
since that race at Fontana. He’s
aggressive, but not in a way that will put off his fellow competitors, and
Larson seems to be able to get more out of a car than what the set up should
allow. Larson, as a rookie, has scored
ten top-ten finishes this season already, more than his predecessor Juan Pablo
Montoya did in all of 2013, with thirteen races remaining. A fact to more intently consider, however, is
not those thirteen races, but the next three. Until last week at Michigan, Larson looked to be in
contention for the Chase, as he was high enough in the point standings to make
the 16 team field. Trouble at the
two-mile track however, has Larson trapped back in the 14th
position. With twelve drivers making the Chase base on winning a race or more,
that leaves only four positions open for those hoping to make it in on
points. Matt Kenseth, fifth in points,
is an almost sure lock to make it. Behind
him, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle take up the remaining spots. It is possible that Larson could generate and
make up the 24 point in arrears he is to Biffle, but that’s not the whole
story. Larson would also have to
leapfrog Kasey Kahne, a favorite for this weekend’s race at Bristol, and his
main opponent for Rookie Of The Year, Austin Dillon. The other way into the Chase, of course, is
to win a race. Does Larson have one great heist left in him for this
season, and or will the rookie have to wait until next season to get his
opportunity for a Championship? One
thing is for certain; those who enjoy watching Kyle Larson as he completes his
rookie season should be well entertained, not only for this year, but for many
seasons to come.
Feel free to leave comments below, and be sure to follow me @RaceFansJim on Twitter, because sometimes I give stuff away!