Kyle Larson Aims For Resume Boosting Victory At Bristol
Kyle Larson Aims For Resume Boosting Victory At Bristol
Kyle Larson went on an historic tear in 2020 and takes aim at the biggest prize yet in 2021.
Remarkably, at 28-years-old, there isn’t much left for Kyle Larson to accomplish in a Sprint Car.
The checklist mostly comes down to the big ones, like earning a World of Outlaws championship, or winning marquee races like the Knoxville Nationals or Kings Royal.
That’s not easy by any means, but it’s a short list of goals, after winning races in bunches over the past decade.
There is much to be said about a career that already includes 19 World of Outlaws feature victories and 24 triumphs in the All Stars Circuit of Champions. He has a Gold Cup, a Silver Cup and a Capitani Classic each on his resume.
His youth also works in his favor in that he could race NASCAR for another dozen years and still have time to chase that championship and any remaining races left on the bucket list.
Bristol is different.
His brother-in-law, Brad Sweet, said time could be of the essence when it comes to winning the iconic sword and helmet trophies awarded at Thunder Valley.
"It’s been 20 years since Sprint Cars have raced at Bristol Motor Speedway and it could be another 20 years," Sweet said.
If history is to be duplicated, they’ll race here next year, especially since NASCAR has already confirmed a second helping of the Cup Series on clay.
But chances to win a trophy currently only held by Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser and Donny Schatz are far and few between right now.
"It would mean a lot," Larson said. "They've only done this race a couple of times. They've only had a few dirt races now at Bristol, and not many people can say they've won here, and I want to be one of them.
"It's a unique event and you always want to win the unique ones, the special ones, for sure. So, this is one of them and it's a track with so much history and I'd love to win there."
He has to be considered one of the favorites, obviously.
Larson earned 42 wins in 84 410 Sprint Car starts last season. In his first race of the season, he won on Friday at Williams Grove with the All-Stars Circuit of Champions, and will make his second start on Friday and first with the Outlaws -- where he won a division best 12 times in 26 starts.
He’s not expecting a cake walk.
"I think it’s way different because last year I was racing almost every day of the week, and we built a huge notebook and I was fresh as a driver," Larson said. "Now, this is only my second race back in Sprint Car since November so there’s some rust there. The Outlaws are just so much more aggressive than the All Stars with double-file restarts and such. It’s the little things you have to perfect to be good with the World of Outlaws."
Including the whole beating his brother in law thing.
"I'm really competitive with Brad," Larson said. "He's my brother-in-law so I want to beat him more than anyone, probably. I'm sure the same goes for me.
"Brad’s the best there is, with the best team, too."
But he also gave credit where it’s due to the other championship favorites as well.
"The world of Outlaws are just extremely competitive," Larson said. "You can look down the field and kind of pick apart the guys that are good on half miles. For example, Carson Macedo and (Jason Johnson Racing) are really, really good.
"David Gravel is always a great qualifier and that’s the key to success, especially on half-miles. Logan Schuchart, Jacob Allen and Sheldon (Haudenschild) has been killing it."
That’s the bar, but they surely all look to Larson every time he and Paul Silva roll into a race track, too.