Kyle Larson wins again in inaugural Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
LEBANON, Tenn. — The day after he won $1 million in the NASCAR All-Star Race, Kyle Larson got on a plane and won a sprint-car race Monday night.
He won another sprint-car race Wednesday and then drove his motor home five hours from Waynesville, Ohio, to Nashville Superspeedway, pulling in around 4:30 a.m. Thursday before getting some rest prior to practice Saturday afternoon.
Larson promptly won in his big stock car again Sunday, earning his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series points race victory (and fourth consecutive including the all-star event) by leading 264 of the 400 laps, including the final 78 at the inaugural Cup event on the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
"I got caught up on my sleep, for sure," he said with a laugh afterward.
At this point, Larson is probably causing his competition to lose sleep.
Here are my three takeaways from Nashville:
Larson on a roll
Having won seven times in his first 237 Cup starts, Larson racked up wins at Charlotte (a 1.5-mile track), Sonoma (road course) and Nashville (1.33-mile track) – three very different styles of tracks.
"He’s one of the hungriest drivers that I have ever seen," said his boss, team owner Rick Hendrick. "Other than his family, that’s all he thinks about. ... He eats, sleeps and drinks racing and wants to win every race.
"I think about him getting tired. His stamina is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anybody more intense who wants to race every minute of every day and wants to win."
Larson said the importance of winning at a variety of tracks is something that should give the organization confidence over the second half of the 2021 season.
"It just shows the strength in our race team right now and our organization. I’ve won, but all four of us have been really good at all those styles, too," he said of the Hendrick organization.
"It says a lot for the playoffs and stuff like that. There is still a lot of racing left to go."
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Brakes a big issue
With NASCAR running its "short-track" horsepower and aero package, some teams opted for a short-track brake package, while others opted for a less robust (and lighter) package than they would typically use on 1.5-mile tracks.
Among the drivers with brake issues: Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, Ryan Preece and Justin Haley.
The teams that thrived appeared to have the brakes they use on short tracks.
"It’s always better to have brakes," Kevin Harvick said.
Larson’s team was also conservative.
"We had a decision to make coming here. Our process this year has led us down a conservative road in these categories," Larson crew chief Cliff Daniels said. "We were conservative at Darlington, we were conservative at Dover – places where we ran OK. ... Everything held up well."
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Big days for Chastain and Almirola
Ross Chastain enjoyed a career-best finish as he took the checkered flag in second. He ran in the top-10 much of the day and had a strong car at the end.
"It was amazing," he said. "This is the Cup Series. ... I’m racing with my heroes.
"I want to compete with them, and I want to beat them."
Aric Almirola, who started on the pole, finished fourth, but it wasn’t one of those days when he ran out front all day. He had to scrap for it.
Almirola, who entered the race 28th in the standings, was coming off an all-star event in which he won the last-chance race to get into the main event.
"It’s been such a tough year, and it’s easy to get down on yourself and not have a lot of confidence," he said. "Confidence is something that comes with results.
"You can’t fake it, so it’s been nice to have two good weeks now, and it certainly makes everybody have a little pep in their step, and things are going in the right direction."
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!
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