Driver earned career-best second-place finish in this race last year
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FONTANA, Calif. — Ending his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series as the 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year with eight top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes along with one Coors Light Pole Award, Kyle Larson is still searching for more — a win.
It was last year’s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Spedway when the California native’s racing abilities truly began to shine.
Rightfully earning the admiration of NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch, Larson came up second to Busch in the 2014 Auto Club 400 after fighting hard in the final laps. Busch was able hold Larson off as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver crossed the finish line .214 seconds ahead of the then-rookie, who had won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race just one day earlier.
Now, with Busch being sidelined for injuries sustained in this year’s opening XFINITY Series race at Daytona, it begs the question — what driver will be holding off Larson for the lead this year?
“There’s a lot of good cars and (Kevin) Harvick has definitely been strong so far this season, so I’m sure he’ll be the one to beat,” Larson said on Friday at the Auto Club Speedway.
Though 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion Harvick has displayed nothing but dominance so far this season, Larson has already earned himself two top-10 finishes and will start fifth in the field for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
“I like this place,” Larson said. “It’s tricky because of all the seams and it’s got a pretty worn out surface and you have to search around for all the grip, but it seems to suit my driving style.”
The 22-year-old will get plenty of practice on the oldest asphalt on the Sprint Cup Series schedule when he runs in Saturday’s Drive4Clots.com 300 (4 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1), the race that gave Larson the first XFINITY Series win of his career.
But Larson’s run in Saturday’s XFINITY Series race will see him start in a backup car as the No. 42 driver spun out in opening practice after Mike Bliss dropped oil on the track, forcing Larson to make the move.
“We should be OK,” Larson said. “I got to make one lap in (the backup car) afterward and it felt fine so hats off to my guys for getting me back out there in that practice to make one lap, that gives me some extra confidence to qualify.”
Once the XFINITY Series race is over, Larson will have one thing on his mind: proving that he’s the car to beat in Sunday’s race.
Larson’s crew chief Chris Heroy jokingly recalled a request Larson made after coming up short to Busch last year.
“He came on the radio and asked me if he could do a burnout,” Heroy said after the 2014 Auto Club 400. “I told him, ‘Next time, if things work out.'”
Perhaps Larson’s “next time” is now.
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