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Newly crowned NASCAR Cup series champion Kyle Larson feels surprised by his dominance of the sport this season. After being suspended by NASCAR early last year, Larson bounced back in 2021 to notch up 10 victories to clinch his maiden Cup Series title.
Larson spoke about his experiences this year in an interview with the Race during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. Larson said:
“I would never have imagined that great a season.”
“It definitely is a bit surprising. But at the same time, when you get to see the inner workings of the team, how well everyone prepares and how many great, smart people are in Hendrick Motorsports, it should be done. The resources are crazy.”
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Larson said he and his team members at Hendrick Motorsports knew they were capable of winning the championship this season. Neither of them, however, expected to notch up 10 race wins. He said:
“You don’t need a whole lot of good luck, you just can’t run into any bad luck or mistakes in the playoffs, so it makes it very difficult. We were able to win a lot of stages and a lot of races during the regular season that made our playoffs a little bit less stressed. It’s intense, however you want to look at it.”
Kyle Larson was dropped by his former team Chip Ganassi in April 2020 after he was heard using a racial slur during an iRacing event. An exodus of high-profile sponsors and a suspension from NASCAR soon followed.
In late 2020, months after the incident, Kyle Larson released a statement on social media apologizing for his behavior and taking full responsibility for his actions. Soon after, NASCAR reinstated his competitive privileges for the 2021 season.
Following his exit from Chip Ganassi, Larson signed with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2021 season, in which he duly dominated the sport.
Kyle Larson became only the second driver in Cup Series history to score more than nine wins in a single season in the last twenty years, the other being Jimmie Johnson in 2007. In addition to the 10 wins and a non-champion All-Star race victory, Larson has also notched up 18 dirt-track race wins this year alone.
Kyle Larson says that he feels “a step below” F1 drivers despite his recent success in NASCAR
Kyle Larson says F1 drivers are on a whole other level of fame and stardom. Despite his recent achievements in NASCAR, he feels “a step below” them.
In an interview with the Race, during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, Larson said:
“I feel we’re still a step below even though I had a great couple of seasons now. These guys are on a whole other level of stardom and fame, I’m in awe of being here. I’m a fanboy today and hopefully, someday I can climb the ladder and keep getting more well-known.”
In a career spanning nearly a decade, Kyle Larson has scored 16 Cup Series wins, 10 pole positions, and a Cup Series title. In 2015, he was also the overall winner of 24 hours of Daytona, which is part of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) endurance championship.
Furthermore, Larson has also been highly successful in dirt track racing, having notched up victories in several prestigious events including the Eldora Dirt Derby, Knoxville Nationals, Chili Bowl Nationals, and the Kings Royal.
