"We were in contention again, like we typically are": HMS star Kyle Larson reflects on his career-best Superspeedway finish at Atlanta

Kyle Larson has shared his thoughts on finishing third at the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. On Sunday (February 23), the Hendrick Motorsports star marked his best-ever career finish at a Superspeedway.

2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson battled through the field after starting the race P17 and came close to lifting his first-ever win at the newly reconfigured drafting track in Georgia. While the 32-year-old made no pace in the first half of the race because of sheer Ford dominance, the No. 5 Chevrolet driver managed to win the Stage 2, his first stage win at a Superspeedway. Eventually, he became one of the frontrunners in the closing moments of the second race of the season and ended with a podium finish under caution.

In a post-race conversation with NBC reporter Dustin Long, Larson looked back on his eventful race after an underwhelming run last weekend at the Daytona 500:

"Honestly, it feels great. So, yeah, I mean, it feels a lot better had we won, but really to finish a race here and make it to the third stage, it feels good in just the battle. It was very entertaining for my seat tonight, so, yeah, I had a good time, and yeah, we were in contention again, like we typically are. We just got to the finish there."

In over 360 starts in the Cup Series, Kyle Larson has taken the checkered flag 29 times, but never at a drafting track. With his third-place finish in his 49th Superspeedway attempt and a stage win, he has finally broken the curse.

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"Daytona and Talladega suck": Kyle Larson after finishing the Atlanta race

Kyle Larson has been open about his weakness while competing on Superspeedways such as Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta. However, he highlighted how the recently concluded race at Atlanta Motor Speedway differs from the other drafting tracks.

Speaking with Kelly Crandall, the HMS driver said:

"This is totally different than Daytona and Talladega. I do have more confidence when we come here even though this is my first finish. Just because I think handling comes into play and it's not just like luck of the lane that you get in necessarily, where Daytona was a lot of that last week."

Asked about the handling at Atlanta, Larson said:

"All of us are in more control here so it's more fun. Daytona and Talladega suck, like they suck."

Kyle Larson will return for the road course race at Circuit of the Americas, the third race of the season on March 2.