Kyle Larson claims he had no confidence in himself coming to playoffs, says he is seeking consistency at Kansas
Kyle Larson scored his third win of the season last Sunday at Darlington.
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Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson started his chase for a second Cup title with an impressive win last Sunday at Darlington. The post-season opener winner pointed out that he had zero confidence coming into the race week last weekend, and despite the win, he isn’t ready to go too far ahead of himself after the win.
Larson’s 2023 season has been unique. Most often this season it has been either a solid race finish or a poor finish for Rick Hendrick’s driver. From the 27 races so far this season, he has secured two wins, 11 top-fives, and 13 top-10s. He finished outside the top 25 nine times so far this year. In the last five races, he has scored one win, two top-10s, and two finishes outside the top 25, showing the up-and-down nature of his races.
This up-and-down run affected the momentum of the No:5 Chevy team, yielding near-zero confidence for the driver. With a solid start to the playoffs and a locked playoff berth, the 2021 Cup champion has some confidence. But he is remaining humble and is working on producing similar consistent front raw finishes.
“I would say leading into the playoffs, I had really no confidence in myself. I think having a good run at Darlington (Raceway) helps, but it’s only one weekend. I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself. I want to focus on putting some solid weeks together. I know we are capable of it. We’ve done it before,” Larson said as reported by Speedwaymedia.
“I just want to remind myself that I can do it consistently and know that we can do it consistently. There are some good tracks for us coming up, and hopefully, we can get that confidence up and build some momentum. We got off to a good start. I hope we can keep it rolling here at Kansas (Speedway),” Larson added.
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Kyle Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, says Darlington’s win was special
Cliff Daniels, the No:5 crew chief, pointed out that the Darlington win his driver scored was a special moment for the team, and his crew wants to celebrate it more, though they can’t. The playoff doesn’t give any time for teams to take a step back, and the team is determined to have similar solid races in the remaining nine events.
“It was such a special moment to get the win (at Darlington Raceway). I think all of us would want to spend a little more time enjoying it. As grateful as we are to have had the day that we did (last) Sunday, that’s the nature of the playoffs, and we are really eyes forward to making sure we take advantage of the next nine weeks,” Daniels said.
Larson’s win last Sunday was special for HMS as it marked their 500th NASCAR race win. It was also the first win at the track for the No:5 Chevy driver. Larson also secured his maiden win at Martinsville earlier this season. It is making this season an enjoyable chaos for the team.
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Justin P Joy
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