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MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- The offseason -- typically designated as a time of rest for most involved in the NASCAR industry -- has been atypically busy for Kyle Larson.
Between flying halfway around the world for a holiday spent racing sprint cars in Australia to an annual pilgrimage coming next week to the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals in Oklahoma, there's been little down time.
At least he won't have to spend the weeks leading into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opener having to answer that pesky question from offseasons past: How close are you to that first win?
"I didn't even think about that," Larson said Thursday at a team photo shoot, smiling at the revelation. "Yeah, this is the first offseason where I haven't been asked about a first win. Just hope we can get the second one early on in the year and not necessarily relax, but can venture out and try things where we haven't gotten the opportunity to do that in my previous three years of racing. If we can get a win early, I think it'll really benefit us when it comes to the Chase."
The 24-year-old driver is prepping for his fourth season at Chip Ganassi Racing with at least one career goal crossed off, visiting Victory Lane for the first time in NASCAR's top division at Michigan International Speedway last August. The triumph marked the high point of his first season working with new crew chief Chad Johnston on the No. 42 Chevrolet team.
That milestone helped push Larson to his first appearance in the Chase playoffs, a postseason run that ended after the first round of eliminations. This season, Larson hopes a quick start out of the gate might be a sign of bigger things in 2017.
"Last year was his first year with our team and we started off a little slow," Larson said. "I think with a new crew chief coming in, it's hard for them to get things where they want it and bringing things from the team he was with before into our organization. Once he got those things in motion, we picked up some speed and got really good throughout the summer. Tapered off a little bit before the Chase and then picked it right back up at the end of the Chase.
"I hope we can start next year off good. That's been a place where we've struggled in the past in our organization -- we'll end the year really good, have high expectations to start the year and underperform for a couple of months, then work really hard to gain points back to make the Chase. I hope we can start the mile-and-a-halfs off where we ended the season and we should have a good year."
The new year is already off to a roaring start for Larson, who spent much of the holiday break Down Under with sightseeing and racing at Sydney Speedway, not far from the Aussie metropolis. A side trip to New Zealand for more sprint-car extracurriculars ended up in a washout, but Larson said the whole experience -- including a surprisingly smooth 14-hour flight for his 2-year-old son, Owen -- was unforgettable.
"It's always fun to get to go to new places," Larson said. "I've been to Australia once before but a different part. It was cool to race close to Sydney, get to go into the city one day, go to the zoo and then also get to race a sprint car, which I don't get to do a whole lot."
That slate promises to pick up next week when Larson and other dirt-savvy NASCAR regulars visit Tulsa for the Chili Bowl, a sprint-car prize that's eluded him in his career thus far. Though the indoor race is a spectator's bonanza, Larson's quick to scuttle any notion of watching from the sidelines.
"Oh, I'm racing," Larson said. "I think this is like my ninth or 10th year running, so we practice on Monday and then my prelim night's on Tuesday and then each night, Tuesday through Friday, is a preliminary night and you gain an idea where you'll start on Saturday. Haven't won the Chili Bowl yet. My good buddy, Rico (Abreu), has won the last two of them, so hopefully I can go get a win there, too."