Kyle Larson makes feelings known about Hendrick Motorsports’ radically “different” Chevrolet for Bowman Gray LCQ

Kyle Larson surprised many when he failed to qualify for the Cook Out Clash through Saturday's (February 1) heat races at the Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It meant that the Hendrick Motorsports driver either needed to get the points provisional for the 23rd and final spot on the grid or he had to finish in the top two in the Last Chance Qualifying (LCQ) race on Sunday (February 2) before the Clash.

Larson went on to win the 75-lap LCQ despite starting from 10th, securing the 21st spot on the grid for the Clash. The No. 5 Chevrolet remained competitive throughout the race, though Larson faced some challenges during restarts. With just 10 laps left, he made a brilliant move in a three-wide battle, passing Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, and Erik Jones to move to third place before ultimately taking the lead.

After the race, Kyle Larson credited the win to the No. 5 team for making big changes to the car, which he described as feeling "totally different".

"My car felt like a totally different race car, so I was happy with that. It really allowed me to get to the front pretty quickly. Hopefully, they can get it repaired here, and we’ll have a decent shot here, I think, in this race," Larson was quoted as saying on the official NASCAR website.

He also spoke about his choice of lane during the restarts and explained why he kept sticking with the inside lane.

"I thought if I take the outside front row, there’s a higher percentage of a chance that I’m gonna get wiped out whenever I either get down or somebody shoves somebody into me. So I just thought my safest thing was to choose inside second row," the HMS driver added.

Luckily, Kyle Larson didn't get involved in any major chaos other than a minor skirmish on lap 65 in his battle with Josh Berry, Erik Jones, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Dillon.

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Kyle Larson wants a new addition to the list of NASCAR tracks for the Clash

During Sunday’s media session, Kyle Larson discussed NASCAR’s decision to hold the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. He expressed openness to seeing the event move to various short tracks, even suggesting potential new venues.

"I think all that would be cool, you know. I think going to LA was great I think that was that huge for our sport. It was fun... So I would like to see us, you know, tap into that a lot but also if there's other... Going to Rockingham (Speedway) or something that'd be cool. I think getting the Cup series back therefore whether it be a points-paying race or a clash or something, I think that'd be neat too," Larson said as shared on Peter Stratta's YouTube channel (0:12 onwards).

It's interesting to note that while Larson is happy about NASCAR tapping into its roots with a return to the Bowman Gray Stadium, he has also made it clear (via Hendrick Motorsports) that the track does not particularly suit him. He last raced at the Madhouse in 2011 and doesn't have fond memories of this track.

The Cook Out Clash eventually proved to be another struggle for Kyle Larson. Having started the race in P21, he could only make little progress to finish P17 after 200 laps.