Prior to ‘The Great American Race,’ there was an immense hype surrounding the new Ford Mustangs and the Camry. Interestingly, however, Chevrolet dominated, taking home the P1 and P2 positions at Daytona 500. William Byron broke a ten-year-long wait with a win for Hendrick Motorsports, while Alex Bowman also proved his mettle during the race. However, for Kyle Larson, the race was a bitter blow to his aspiration of winning his first 500 race and he did highlight the aspect that cost him dearly.

Often during the races at Superspeedways, drivers need to work in tandem to progress in the race. Larson seemed to have formed alliances with the other drivers during the race but was left stranded with a P11 finish. Let’s just say, Larson often strays away from dirty racing, but just this once, he felt like he could have prioritized his self-interest over other drivers.

Kyle Larson learnt his lesson at Daytona International Speedway

It was supposed to be a team effort during the 66th running of the Daytona 500. At least, that’s what Larson believed going into the race. The 31-year-old was leading the charge with his teammates during stage 1 and things were going to plan for the time being. However, closing into the dying stages of the race, it was every man for themselves and the big wreck certainly proved that point. Luckily, Larson escaped the wreck unscathed, but his progress did take a big blow.

Venting out his frustrations and disappointment, Larson, after the race, said, “We would start losing cars and then lose momentum and then we ended up in the back, so it didn’t work out for us. Look at it, learn from it, just really got to be more selfish honestly and more worrying about yourself in those moments than trying to stick together with certain people. If you hesitate to do that it ends up bitting you.”

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Notably, this is the 40th year anniversary for HMS and a win to start off the season was indeed a memorable moment for the team. Despite his disappointments in terms of results, Larson was happy for his teammate for winning the crown jewel of NASCAR. “Awesome for Hendrick Motorsports and proud of William and Rudy and the whole 24 team.”

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The road will only get tough for Larson from here on as, after his P11 finish at the Daytona 500, he will be put to a test in one of his least favorite tracks.

Atlanta Motor Speedway has not been a happy place for Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson is not a fan of intermediate Oval race tracks, especially the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Speaking in an interview with Peter Strartta, he was asked about his expectations from the race and he was quick to express his thoughts about it. He said, “No, I don’t like it but we’re all going so we’ll strap up and be ready.” His track record at the venue paints a clear picture of his preferences and, let’s just say, he’s not a fan of this particular circuit.

Last year in July, he had a freak accident that eventually ruled him out of the race with a #36 finish. Earlier in the year, the results were quite similar as he managed just a #31 finish at the Ambetter Health 400. It was yet again a similar story for the driver back in 2022, where he once again struggled to keep up with the competition and registered a #30 finish. The only top-five finish he managed in the last three seasons at the venue was back in 2021. But apart from that single P2 finish, it has been a constant struggle for him to get any decent outcome at this particular racetrack.

Needless to say, if Larson is aiming for the championship, he will need to deliver the goods at Atlanta Motors Speedway. Especially after his disappointments at the Daytona 500.

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