Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Feeling a little under the weather so I watched most of the rain delayed FRANCECAR race from Texas.

Larson came home 5th and ran in the top 15 throughout most of the race.

Even old jaws (DW) had some good things to say about him.

The "chosen queen" stayed out of everyone's way and managed a 27th place finish only two laps down.

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

Bounce back performance...As predicted...:)

Opinions may vary...

His crew did a great job. Car was garbage in practice. 

i threw in a few more votes for you to show your appreciation. ;)

to indy and beyond!!

I just wish he could come out after a pit stop at least where he was or better not loosing so many positions all the time.  The last pit before the green white checkers, they took 4 tires and lost three spots. All race he was gaining most of his spots late in the run. He was better on old tires than most , Won`t be long and he will get a win on a Sunday.

His rookie season--although yet in it's infancy--is eerily similar to another dirt track driver's rookie Sprint Cup season...perhaps you'ver heard of him--Jeff Gordon.  

I am blown away by the poise this kid has had.  His 1st place run in the Nationwide followed by the 2nd in the Sprint Cup race in California was when--to me at least--he said "ok--enough practice--I'm ready to compete".  Look at the last 4 races--10th, 27th (after running to the front before making a boo boo), 2nd and 5th.  3 top 10's, 2 top 5's, average finish of 11th!   That's the kind of finishes a vetran driver hopes for before the chase to make it in.  He does that in his  4th, 5th, 6th and 7th races of his rookie year?   SICK!   He will win a race or two this year.

  I have been braggin this kid up to all my Nascar buddies for the last 2 years--but even i didn't think it would go like this, this quickly. 

Scary talented group of individuals...

Opinions may vary...

i think he lost positions to cars who took 2 tires.

could be the crew just wanted to make sure he had good tires for the last run and just bring home a good finish. or maybe they thought some of the cars that took two were going to take four.

maybe the crew needs to trust him to hang onto the car and just take two tires and try to keep track position in those circumstances.

to indy and beyond!!

I noticed old DW was not beating his "Danicky" band wagon...or...maybe because of being a little under the weather I dozed more than I thought!  Normally, he just gushes her goodness most of the telecast!

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

Yep, I think he might just win a race this year. Disappointed in Smoke, thought he might run away with it at first....

Seems to me that it is YOU that cannot stop talking about Danica.....Many of your posts contain some sort of reference to her.  Which is it?  Love her or hate her?  Just sayin'

He reminds me of Gordon as well, but if I remember right - been many years ago, Gordon tore up a lot of equipment his first year in Cup.  Aside from Daytona, which was Kyles fault early on and Dillons fault later, he hasn't torn much up. We still have Dalington to come though! I think he'll be good on the two road courses and Indy as well. Didn't see who ended up winning yesterday.  All the news showed was Jr toasting marshmellows!

Yes--Gordon did tear some stuff up.  It was feast or famine for him.  If he could have kept 4 wheels on his car--he could have had a top 5-7 points finish in his 1st year.   Darlington may be a disaster for Larson--but if he can keep the right sheet metal damage to a minimum, it could also be his first win.  That track may be right up his alley--riding the fence around the track out of shape?  Sounds like he may have done that a time or two in his life.  ?   We'll see this weekend.

From www.mrn.com

FORT WORTH, Texas - With each passing week, the notion that rookie Kyle Larson will win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race grows more plausible.

Arguably one the more talented young drivers to move to Cup in the last five years, Larson showed his skills again Monday, finishing fifth at Texas Motor Speedway.

The run follows his second-place effort two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway and 10th-place finish at Bristol three weeks ago.

“I feel like we’ve been a top-10 car most races,’’ said Larson, who is 15th in the points. “I think if we just keep ourselves in contention, things will work out late in the race or we might have a dominating car one day and get our first win.’’

Where might that win come?

“I feel like right now it could come at a mile-and-a-half or a little bit bigger track,’’ he said.’’

The next race at a 1.5-mile speedway comes next month at Kansas Speedway followed by the Sprint All-Star race and Coca-Cola 500 at Charlotte.

This week, the series heads to Darlington Raceway where Larson finished sixth in last year’s Nationwide race and says he looks forward to competing there because he likes running against that wall.

“That tells you what kind of talent he has when a guy looks forward to going to Darlington,’’ said runner-up Jeff Gordon. “I think the top guys in the sport, whether it’s when they first come in or still today, they look at Darlington as a challenging racetrack, but one they look forward to because of the skills it takes to run good there, run up against the wall.

Larson, a former sprint car driver often uses that high line on the big tracks, including Texas.

“They just suit my driving style better,’’ he said of the bigger tracks. “It reminds me of dirt track racing where you can search around for different lines. I didn’t see anybody else as high as I was, at least on the exit of corners. Just always searching for grip and it seems like it pays off.’’

He said he was best on the long runs Monday, thus the green-white-checkered finish didn’t suit him as well. Still, he gained spots after restarting eighth.

What stood out the most was how this team recovered from its woes on Friday.

Larson said they were “terrible’’ when the weekend started. He was 32nd in Friday’s practice session. It was quite a change to how well they ran Monday.

“They worked their butts off all weekend and gave us a great finish,’’ Larson said of his team. 

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

To add to what Larson said--"best on the long runs--green-white-checkered finish didn't suit him as well"

It seems to me Jeff Gordon would already have 100+ wins in Sprint Cup if the green-white-checkered didn't exist.  His career has been built on finding a way to maintain speed while taking care of the car--then he overtakes the opponent when the run is 1/2 way over and the tires have worn out.  It seems like he has always had an advantage when driving an ill handling car late in a run.  I think Larson has the same style and although i like the fact that the race doesn't end under yellow, it may take his future win total down like it has Gordon's. 

What I really like seeing from Larson is his aggressiveness on the late restarts.  Saw it at California and Texas.  That has to be one of the benefits of his experience racing sprints/midgets, etc. - you have to really get after it on restarts if you're going to gain ground.

 Which is it?  Love her or hate her?  Just sayin'

I don't hate...anyone!

I just wonder how long the hype will continue and how long such good equipment will be wasted on such an over rated driver?  I have said NUMEROUS times she was fine in open wheel but she is not cutting it in NASCAR and I don't think she ever will.  Quite often DW, as well as others, go over board on the "flowers" they lay at her feet.  Becomes sickening!

I woiuld LOVE to see Larson have her car to drive!!!

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

   I think Larson would have come in 3rd if Kyle Busch had not dropped down in front of him.I am not slamming Busch its was a racing move but I think Larson had to back out of it a little.Busch was just protecting his position.And I am not a Busch fan at all.

I like Bush... :/

Opinions may vary...

  I will say one thing he is a hell of a race car driver.