NASCAR Preview: Can Kyle Larson End His Winless New Hampshire Streak Following Multiple Close Calls?
On May 25, 2024, in Concord, North Carolina, USA, NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) qualified at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson has already ripped through several tracks on this year’s Cup Series calendar, winning three spectacular races. He heads to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway next to restore his position at the top of the points standings, shouting aloud that no playoff probation or brief bad run will derail his charge to the season finale in Phoenix. Will he be successful in the steps he takes on Sunday?
Larson and his team have found New Hampshire to be a cold location. He remains winless at the Magic Mile after 13 appearances and aims to rectify that this weekend. His toughest challenge is the track’s roughness in Turn 3. He recently told the press, “Whether it’s being loose into the corners or your car is ‘bouncing’ into three, you have to be patient with your car.” Larson has never shied away from a challenge. He will not be present this time either.
He announced that he was looking forward to the race and the struggle that Turn 3 had planned for him. His best track accomplishments thus far have been runner-up finishes (2014 and 2017). On a positive note, he does have seven top-10 finishes and five top-5 finishes.
His crew chief, Cliff Daniels, is also preparing for the daunting challenge. He explained, “It’s just a challenging place with flat edges. It has several bumps going into (turn) three. So the course has good character, which we enjoy because of the effort of having the car set up and balanced correctly. Hopefully, this vacation will bring us closer than last year.”
Kyle Larson finished at New Hampshire in 2023, but where?
Last year, the Cup Series field arrived in Loudon on a rainy day. As a result, the race was moved from its original date to Monday. After 301 laps, Martin Truex Jr. emerged as the clear winner, leading 254 laps. Team Penske’s Joey Logano finished second, followed by Larson in third.
Both the driver and the crew chief will devise war plans to ultimately get their hands on the massive lobster that the track awards winners. It won’t be long before we know whether Loudon will become dinner for the #5 Hendrick Motorsports crew on Sunday.
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