SOPHIA, N.C. -- Wednesday night marked the beginning of an unorthodox week for 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson.
After making his first Late Model Stock Car appearance in a decade at North Carolina's Caraway Speedway, Larson is now turning his attention to the first street race in Cup Series history that will take place in downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon.
An eighth-place finish Wednesday in a car prepared by JR Motorsports helped Larson obtain the right mindset ahead of what is expected to be an unpredictable race at Chicago. It also provided him an appreciation for how much Late Model Stock racing has changed since 2013.
“It was honestly much more fun than I was expecting,” Larson said. “The cars were much quicker than what I remembered them being. Obviously, I would have liked to have done a little better, but I’m not a short-track racer. This style of racing has been difficult for me, and it showed against the guys who do this for a living.
“I figured if I got to eighth, I’d be good, and we got to eighth.”
RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Chicago Street CoursePrior to Wednesday, Larson's most recent Late Model Stock was in the 2013 Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond Raceway. In an all-star field consisting of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and others, Larson placed 10th after starting in the same position.
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked Larson to run a second car for him at Caraway with Josh Berry as his crew chief, Larson immediately jumped at the opportunity. His goals for the race were to have fun, but also get re-acclimated to the people and cars in Late Model Stock racing.
[caption id="attachment_398265" align="alignnone" width="1300"]The one-day show at Caraway saw Larson gradually get more comfortable with his car. By the time the checkered flag waved, Larson had raced his way up from a 16th starting position into the top 10, beating established Late Model Stock drivers like Connor Hall and Landon Huffman.
Now that Caraway is behind him, Larson is turning his attention toward Chicago. Although he is used to balancing out busy itineraries, Larson admitted the two races on the docket this week are different with how much information and knowledge he must take in for each event.
“I jump from extreme to extreme almost every day of the week,” Larson said. “It’s not hard for me to switch my mindset and get ready [for Chicago]. I’ve never raced a street course, so there will be a lot of learning in that little practice we get. Hopefully our car is fast.”
Larson admitted to spending a little more than a couple hours in the simulator this week to prepare for Chicago, which is something he rarely does.
For Larson, a simulator can only replicate race conditions so much, especially with a course as tight and narrow as Chicago. Despite this, Larson said the laps he made in the simulator helped him figure out the corners and the slight elevation changes around the course.
Any new track on the Cup Series schedule serves as an equalizer for Larson and the rest of the field. There are many unknowns for everyone about Chicago as Sunday approaches, but Larson is determined to be the first driver to claim a Cup Series race on a street circuit.
“Everybody is on an even playing field,” Larson said. “Obviously it’d be very neat [to win on Sunday]. I’m excited for the opportunity to race on a street circuit in the NASCAR Cup Series. All of us would love to get that win.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Behind the scenes with Kyle Larson at Caraway [caption id="attachment_398267" align="alignnone" width="1300"]With so much going into executing a clean race at Chicago, Wednesday’s CARS Tour race served as similar-but-different territory for Larson.
A packed house descended into the foothills of Asheboro, North Carolina to see whether one of the most accomplished drivers of the current decade could defeat many of the best Late Model Stock competitors racing in the southeast.
Even though Larson wished to depart Caraway with another victory on his storied resume, he enjoyed the challenge that came with Late Model Stock racing and being able to lean on both Berry and Earnhardt Jr. for advice on how to get the most out of his car.
Should an opening in his hectic schedule arrive, Larson did not rule out a potential return to Late Model Stocks soon.
“Potentially, but who knows?” Larson said. “This [race at Caraway] obviously worked out because it was a good week and close to home, so that makes things a lot easier. I’ve never even looked at a Late Model [Stock] schedule before, so I don’t even know what else is out there.”
Until that day arrives, Larson is keeping his focus on earning a second Cup Series title. He will look to build momentum for that championship run by closing out his busy week with a victory on the streets of Chicago.