Kyle Larson enjoying the celebration as championship begins to sink in
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
LOS ANGELES — Kyle Larson knows he has an intense crew and crew chief.
But he had a pretty good feeling Tuesday morning that they had not started on any preparations for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Yes, include ultra-intense crew chief Cliff Daniels on that list.
"I highly doubt he’s started working on this race," Larson quipped Tuesday in an interview with FOX Sports Digital at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the site of the 2022 preseason Clash.
When it comes to headaches, the ones Larson and his crew nursed Monday likely were the most welcome, after they celebrated Larson winning the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
The party lasted well into Monday morning, and Larson began his duties as the Cup champion Tuesday, when he toured the coliseum where the 2022 season will open with a unique exhibition.
Larson was busy Monday responding to text messages — one from Blake Shelton might have been the most famous — and he sat courtside Monday night for the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets of the NBA.
He also got to see some of the social media reaction, including a photo his father posted of him at Phoenix Raceway in 1993, at not even 2 years old.
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"I don’t remember anything about ’93. I remember going to some Copper World Classic races. I probably had to have been 4 or 5 around then," Larson said. "I probably mostly remember it because of my mom’s pictures that she takes all the time.
"I didn’t really realize we were recreating anything. I would have more gotten on his back than on his shoulders."
It might take all offseason for Larson and his team to recover from the celebrations — not just this week's but also Dec. 2 in Nashville for the NASCAR Awards.
Larson’s wife, Katelyn, gained fame when she shotgunned a beer in victory lane a couple of years ago. So she tried to fulfill all the requests to do it again with people after the championship race.
"She was a trooper, for sure, after the race," Larson said. "She was feeling rough [Monday] — a lot worse than me. I felt like I did a good job pacing myself."
Larson, who plans to be back in a sprint car next week, does have one big offseason trip planned. He will travel to Dubai for the Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi. The Hendrick Motorsports driver isn’t considering any sort of move to Formula 1, but he thought this would be a good time for a personal trip.
"Zero obligations while I’m there," he said. "I’ve always wanted to go to an F1 race. ... When we realized the finale was in December, I wanted to go to that."
Kyle Larson on winning the 2021 Cup Series Championship, Clash at the Coliseum I FIRST THINGS FIRST
Larson will then have more racing, including the Chili Bowl, on his offseason schedule. And then, of course, there is preparation for the Next Gen car. NASCAR has tests scheduled for Charlotte next week, Phoenix in December, Daytona in January and likely at least one additional test in January.
"It’s going to be a totally new car, and I think that takes some of your momentum away a little bit because there are so many unknowns," Larson said. "We could have a better year than we had this year, or I could be running around 20th every week.
"I don’t think that’s going to be the case. ... [But] I don’t know if it suits my style or not."
Ask Larson about his Next Gen test schedule, and he can't tell you. He says he and Daniels will figure it out.
Amid the Next Gen tests, Larson will get back to racing at a dirt track in a small town, and he will be back in his element, rather than celebrating a Cup title.
"They’re all really congratulatory," he said. "I’m one of them, so they’re really proud of me and my accomplishments on dirt and especially in the Cup Series. I’m their guy.
"I’m looking forward to racing dirt again this offseason as the Cup Series champion."
He was even excited to get back into a Cup car, thanks to the visit to the Coliseum. On Dec. 20, NASCAR will begin constructing a purpose-built, quarter-mile asphalt track complete with a SAFER Barrier and catchfence for the Feb. 6 exhibition.
"Being here today has gotten me extremely excited to get the season started, even though we just finished it," Larson said.
He swears he’ll be the same guy next season, even though he'll be introduced as a Cup champion — as he was often Tuesday in Los Angeles.
"It’s definitely hitting me a little bit more now that I’m doing media day after winning a Cup championship," he said. "Once we get to the champion’s week in Nashville and the banquet, that’s when it’s going to set in."
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
