Kyle Larson hits the wall during practice, will not qualify at the Charlotte Roval
During Group A practice at the Charlotte Roval, Kyle Larson hit the wall hard and had to go to the garage for repairs. Due to those repairs, Larson will not be allowed to qualify according to NASCAR rules.
Larson came off the flat part of the road course, up the banking of the oval, and found himself hitting the wall.
Heading up the track, Larson lost control, and he almost went front end first into the wall. He just didn’t hit the exit right and it cost him. Larson has a slim margin of 15 points to the cutline. If he finds himself stuck in traffic on Sunday, he could end up eliminated.
A year ago, Kyle Larson made mistakes. He hit the wall in the race. This year, he’s wrecked before the qualifying session and will now start in the rear. A tough break for the 5 team.
If you are Kyle Larson and the Hendrick Motorsports team, you have to be happy that stage breaks are back. NASCAR announced ahead of the playoffs that the Charlotte Roval would have stage breaks, contrary to how NASCAR had conducted all road courses in the regular season.
It might help that Larson will go to a backup car. A fresh start might be just what they need.
There will be chances to move up in the field. However, this isn’t an oval. It’s the Roval. Accidents are waiting to happen and they will happen. Larson likely starts below the cutline when he lines up in last tomorrow. He’s come from the back to win before, but can he do it on the road course?
Kyle Larson has not been as dominant on road courses
In NASCAR, especially the Next Gen era, road course racing is evolving. New drivers like Shane van Gisbergen showed that there is a lot of work for many NASCAR drivers to do on the roads.
Larson is still one of the best road course racers in the Cup Series. However, at times his aggression and patience get the better of him. I should say impatience. There are times he just makes moves that he doesn’t need to, pushes it when he doesn’t have to.
Looking at his road course results this season, I would be worried. Larson qualified well at the Indy Road Course and Watkins Glen. However, he was P26 at The Glen. P8 in Indy, but not good enough to win the race.
Again, at Sonoma, he had speed, but not enough to win. He’s just lacked those top-5 finishes this season on the road. P4 at Chicago, but SVG blew past him on the track.
My point is, Kyle Larson will be in the rear. That doesn’t bode well for him at all. It’s hard to move up in these road course races. Stage breaks and restarts will give him chances to advance. Nothing is guaranteed, though.