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The final 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway yesterday saw reigning champion Kyle Larson end his title bid this season. The #5 hendrickcars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver, who looked comfortably set to advance to Round of 8, succumbed to the pressure of chasing his second championship. He made a mistake during the 400-mile-long race which ultimately led to his elimination.
The Bank of America Roval 400 saw the Hendrick Motorsports driver finish in P35 after losing control of his car on Turn 7 of the road course and backing up into the wall, breaking his rear toe-link. The subsequent repairs on Lap 98 of the race saw Larson fall five laps behind the leading pack, and a huge recovery to keep his title aspirations alive. The finish of the race saw Chase Briscoe edge the Elk Grove, California native out by 2 points to advance to the next round.
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Kyle Larson spoke about a frustrating day at the office and how he was solely responsible for his elimination post-race. He said:
“The only thing that I could have done differently was not crash and hit the wall and break the toe link, so yeah, it’s all on me and then you know the team repaired it as quickly as they could, and yeah, then at that point they’re just along for the ride as far as points go. Just dumb mistake on my part.”
After a dominant victory over the field in the 2021 season, Kyle Larson was also aware of how difficult it would be to replicate the previous season, which saw him visit Victory Lane 10 times. The new Next Gen NASCAR also introduced parity as well as a fresh platform for drivers to learn about this year. Cliff Daniels, the crew chief for the #5 crew at Hendrick Motorsports, spoke on how Larson was not the sole person responsible for the team's elimination and said:
“Me as the leader of the team, I have to own the mistakes of you know, things on pit road, and when we miss the setup or miss the call or whatever the situation would be. And again, we’ve had some mechanical issues that you just can’t have. So no, it doesn’t fall all of it on his shoulders. And I know he’s trying to take a lot of the blame.”
Kyle Larson looks forward to preparing well for 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season
Kyle Larson, after being eliminated from playoff contention, looked back on how the 2022 season has been up and down for the 30-year-old driver. With a total of two wins and 16 top-10s to his name this season, it is hard to compare the level of performance Larson has shown in the past year.
Kyle Larson elaborated on how he aims to come back stronger for 2023 and said:
“I mean, there’s been no real rhythm to it for me and our team, but we fought hard all year to get better. And we’re gonna continue to fight, continue to work hard to be better for the rest of the season as well as be more prepared for next year.”
NASCAR goes live from Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend for South Point 400.
