Kyle Larson back at Texas
Apr 10, 2015; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (42) during practice for the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
After missing the March 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway because of a fainting spell during an autograph session the previous day, second-year Cup driver Kyle Larson returns to racing action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500.
On Friday, Larson was among the drivers who stepped into the TMS media center for a Q&A with the motorsports media. During his presser, Larson discussed his absence at Martinsville and the season up to this point. Here’s a partial transcript:
WE ARE SIX RACES INTO THE SEASON HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK WE CAN TELL WHO IS GOING TO BE GOOD AND WHO STILL HAS WORK TO DO?
“I think you could have evaluated after Atlanta really because those are the majority of the tracks we are going to run on. It seems like the same people that were good last year are good this year. There are a couple of cars that are better than they probably were last year and a couple that maybe are struggling a little bit more. I feel like our team is about where we were when we ended the season last year. We still have some work to do to be able to contend each week. We are getting really close. We just have to, both me and Jamie (McMurray) have to have a little bit better luck at the end of the race and we should be back up there challenging for wins.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR EMOTIONS SITTING IN THE HOSPITAL HAVING TO WATCH THE RACE FROM MARTINSVILLE?
“Yeah, it’s never good when you have to miss a race. But it was good to get all those tests ran on me to know that I am 100 percent healthy, just had a bad morning. Yeah, it is exciting to get back in the race car later today in a couple of hours. Missing one race sucks, but at least it wasn’t more than just one.”
BEING OUT OF A RACE CAR FOR TWO WEEKS DID THAT FEEL LIKE A LONG TIME GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF SEAT TIME YOU HAVE?
“Not really because I haven’t raced any sprint car stuff for a couple of years, at least during the year. But it was nice to have the real week off. It wasn’t nice not getting to race Martinsville. But now having a kid and stuff it’s cool to get to have an off weekend like that and get to hang out. We got in our swimming pool for the first time. We went to one of our mechanics house for Easter. It was fun to get to spend the weekend with them at home. Yeah, ready to get back on this long streak of races.”
HOW HARD WAS IT TWO WEEKS AGO TO WATCH THE RACE FROM MARTINSVILLE? WHAT PREPARATIONS ARE YOU TAKING THIS WEEKEND TO PREVENT THINGS LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?
“Actually, I felt like I was still able to learn some things by sitting in the hospital bed watching the race. Martinsville is where I struggle the most on our tour. I was able to watch the good guys really because I’m never around the good guys during the race at Martinsville. The cameras are on them a lot so I can see what they are doing and listen to radio communications and things like that. Definitely learned a little bit and as far as here on out just make sure I drink enough fluids and probably try and eat breakfast in the morning.”
YOUR DIET PLAN HAS ALSO CHANGED? CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT A LITTLE BIT?
“Yeah, it stinks when you come here to Texas and they have the Fuzzy’s Tacos that are really good and you can’t go over there and eat them probably. I hate breakfast, so I’ve got to find some things that I like to eat in the morning and just make sure I drink enough fluids. I feel like I take decent care of myself. That morning was a little bit different because I overslept and had to rush out to the car, but we should be good.”
TESTING AT RICHMOND THIS WEEK WAS THAT BENEFICIAL AT ALL?
“Yeah I think so. Even though everything checked out fine it is nice to get in the car and make sure everything was still fine in the cockpit as far as health goes. And to get, after being out from almost two weeks, to get back in the race car before you come to a real race weekend. It was good too. It was nice to get in the car Wednesday there.”
SO MANY OF THE TRACKS ON THE CIRCUIT ARE 1.5-MILE, TWO TOP 10S LAST YEAR AT TEXAS WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT YOU LIKE OR YOU EXCEL AT HERE AND WHY?
“I like Texas because it is pretty bumpy and the surface is worn out. You can move around on the race track, you can run the bottom all the way to the top. (Turns) 1 and 2 are really tricky to run the top because there are so many bumps. So it is just a technical race track that I seem to do well at I guess. I hope we can go out there this weekend and improve on those top 10’s and turn them into two top five finishes this year. Two wins would be good.”
GIVE US AN IDEA OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR SHORT TRACK PROGRAM AND BRISTOL SPECIFICALLY COMING UP:
“Bristol is one of my best tracks. I came close to winning a couple of Xfinity races there and ran pretty well there in the Cup car last year. As far as Richmond goes, it is probably one of the tracks that I don’t do very well at. So it was good to go there Wednesday to test and try and learn some more things behind the wheel, as well as, the team trying to get a better set-up there for us. Bristol is probably the only short track I run well at. Hopefully we can go there and do well again.”