“I was mad afterwards”: HMS’ Kyle Larson comments on the big hole in his impressive NASCAR resume 

Hendrick Motorsports superstar Kyle Larson recently appeared in an episode of Corey LaJoie's podcast, Stacking Pennies. In this podcast, the Rick Ware Racing driver talks about all things NASCAR, including occasional interviews with fellow drivers and industry leaders.

Larson started his career in the Cup Series in 2014 driving #42 for Chip Ganassi Racing and won six races for the team. Then, in 2021 he joined Hendrick Motorsports and went on to win the Cup Series Championship that year. He's won a total of 19 races for Rick Hendrick's team.

Despite an impressive career, the single biggest gap in Kyle Larson's resumé could be The Great American Race: he's never been able to take the chequered flag at Daytona Beach as a Cup series driver. Ten years ago, though, he was part of the team that won the Rolex 24 at Daytona. On this subject, Larson said to fellow driver Corey LaJoie:

"It's difficult and I feel like you said: you think you start to figure it out, like with the 500... although we haven't had good finishes, I'm confident when we go to superspeedways. But Daytona I was just like mad afterwards. Every move I made, which wasn't mini-moves, was the wrong one; and then you just get gridlocked." [ 15:45 onward]

He then mentioned the luck factor, in which mere inches can save or wreck one, and that it's nearly impossible to prepare for such things. He said this while talking about his teammate and eventual race winner William Byron.

"I'm like right in the middle, like OK, when am I going to wreck? And then you see guys like William (Byron), who's right next to me misses the wreck by THIS much. Every time! Why can't I align myself up in the right lane?," Larson said afterward in the interview with Corey LaJoie [16:15 onward].

Despite his proficiency, Larson has specifically struggled to get the results going specifically at NASCAR's superspeedway tracks.

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Kyle Larson's ongoing struggle on Superspeedways

Kyle Larson (5) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson has been one of the most successful drivers in the Cup Series since he joined Hendrick Motorsports, but oddly enough Superspeedways like Daytona Beach seem to actively elude him as he's never won there, in Talladega, or Atlanta.

This year, after two of these races (Daytona and Atlanta), the Elk Grove native stands at 61 points for the championship with a P20 finish in Daytona and a P3 in Atlanta. The latter was a specially frustrating result for his fans, as the winner was announced after the race, by looking at the moment the 'caution' light came on for a crash behind the leaders.

Larson and his fans will have to wait until April 27, when the circuit arrives at Lincoln, Alabama to see if he can lift his own curse at Talladega.