Kyle Larson candidly confesses to his Truck ‘inexperience’ in response to Austin Cindric’s Homestead sweep question

2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson started his weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in style. He won the 134-lap Truck Series race on Friday after an unfortunate engine cut-off issue for Corey Heim in the final laps.

During the post-race interview, fellow Cup Series driver Austin Cindric asked Larson about sweeping the weekend, to which the HMS driver responded positively while acknowledging his inexperience in the Trucks.

Kyle Larson started the Baptist Health 200 from third place and remained in the battle for the lead pretty much throughout the race. The only scary moment of the race came for Larson on lap 90 when he dropped down to pass Layne Riggs for second and spun out, causing a Caution flag. After the restart, he climbed up to sixth on lap 124 and was back to third on lap 130.

Corey Heim was looking set for his third Truck Series victory of the season before his engine cut off for the second time in the race with four laps to go. Kyle Larson passed Riggs on lap 132 and went on to claim his fourth career victory in Trucks. After the race, he was interviewed by Austin Cindric, who drives for Team Penske in the Cup Series.

Cindric asked Larson if this victory gave him the confidence to sweep the weekend by winning the Xfinity and the Cup Series races later in the weekend. Larson explained how he anticipated the Truck race to be the most difficult of the three due to his lack of experience and that he felt good for the remaining two races.

"I don't know, gotta beat guys like you, so that's going to be tough," Larson told Cindric. "But I don't know, I felt like the Truck race was probably gonna be the toughest to win. I am not that experienced in them, the runs are typically shorter. I feel like I need long runs like that last one to get going. I feel better about Xfinity and Cup but the competition gets tougher and tougher as you are getting on in the weekend so we'll see. But we're off to a good start so we'll try." (1:00 onwards)

Larson will next compete in the Hard Rock Bet 300 in the Xfinity Series on Saturday, March 22. The race is scheduled to start at 4:00 pm ET.

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Kevin Harvick picks Kyle Larson to win the Cup race in Miami

In the latest episode of his Happy Hour podcast, 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and his co-hosts Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith spoke about the heavy hitters for this weekend's Cup Series race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Harvick picked Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson as his favorite to win the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday.

Larson has already tasted victory at this racetrack in 2022 and is also the driver to have led the most laps in Miami with the Next Gen Car. The HMS driver has led 294 laps at Homestead with the next best figure being Ryan Blaney at 100 laps. Speaking about his choice of the race winner, Harvick said:

"I think I'm going to go with the #5 (Kyle Larson). And that's why I like to pick first because I am the leader in the clubhouse. So that's how I get to pick first," he remarked jokingly (58:10 onwards).

Kyle Larson currently sits sixth in the Cup Series drivers' championship with 152 points against his name.