Kyle Larson No. 32 NNS Post-Race Report: Phoenix Int’l Raceway

Kyle Larson
No. 32 Eveready Chevrolet Camaro
Dollar General 200 fueled by Amerigas
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Phoenix International Raceway | March 2, 2013

Bouncing Back From Contact, Larson Charged with 13th Place at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 3, 2013) – Returning to the site of his best career NASCAR national series finish to date, Kyle Larson and the No. 32 Turner Scott Motorsports team had confidence and a fast Eveready Camaro on their side. Laying down fast laps in both practice sessions, Larson and crew chief Trent Owens compiled a good baseline setup for the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Dollar General 200 fueled by Amerigas. However, hot and slick track conditions on race day proved to be a challenge for the 20-year-old driver, as he battled a loose condition for most of the afternoon to come home with a 13th place finish.

After rolling off from the 14th position at the drop of the green flag, Larson first battled a tight-handling condition in his Chevrolet Camaro, but broke into the top-10 after a fast pit stop by his Turner Scott Motorsports crew just before lap 50. Though the first round of adjustments were made to remedy a tight condition, Larson soon radioed that the track surface had changed, and he was now loose all the way around the one-mile oval. He continued to battle the loose condition in his No. 32 machine through the next round of pit stops, hanging on as he weaved his way through heavy traffic during green flag racing conditions.

Battling side by side around the 12th position beyond the halfway point, the young Earnhardt Ganassi Racing development driver made slight contact with the outside retaining wall as his Eveready Camaro broke loose, bringing out the sixth caution of the afternoon. The pit crew went to work quickly once again when Larson pulled down pit road under the yellow, changing two right side tires and making one final round of adjustments. Those final changes helped the handling in the closing laps, but traffic marred Larson’s charge to get back to the front, giving him a 13th place finish.

“The Eveready Camaro was really good in the closing laps, but we just didn’t have enough to get to the front at that point. We fought a loose handling condition for most of the race and that’s what got me into the wall with 50 laps to go,” Larson explained. “But I had a lot of fun racing with Jimmie Johnson for most of the race, and I feel like I learned a lot from him. I’m really looking forward to racing the rest of the season with a lot of different NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers and learning as much as I can from them.”

Notes:
–     Kyle Larson made his second career NNS start at Phoenix International Raceway for the Dollar General 200 fueled by Amerigas on Saturday, March 2.

–   Rounding out both practice sessions inside the top-five on the speed chart, Larson followed up with a 14th place qualifying effort.

–      Fighting a loose Eveready Camaro with 50 laps to go, Larson scraped the outside wall and received minimal damage. After taking two tires under the ensuing caution period, he rebounded nicely to finish 13th.

–    As the highest finishing NNS rookie on Saturday, Larson claimed the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award.

–    After the first two events of the 2013 NNS season, Larson now unofficially sits seventh in the series driver point standings, 16 points behind leaders Sam Hornish Jr. and teammate Justin Allgaier.

Practice 1
Position: 4
Fastest Lap: 27.458
Laps: 31

Final Practice
Position: 3
Fastest Lap: 27.365
Laps: 22

Qualifying
Position: 14
Fastest Lap: 27.513

Race
Position:  13
Laps Completed/Total: 200/200

About Turner Scott Motorsports: Turner Scott Motorsports was established in 1999 by Texas businessman Steve Turner, who was joined by partner Harry Scott Jr. as co-owner in 2013. This season will mark the fourth season of full-time NASCAR competition for the organization, which expanded in 2011 from a two-truck operation in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) to become the largest stand-alone multi-series team in NASCAR’s top-tier touring series. The team earned its first championship when James Buescher captured the NCWTS title in 2012. Turner Scott Motorsports operates out of an 110,000 square-foot state-of-the art facility in Mooresville, N.C.  The Chevrolet-backed team has created alliances with General Motors’ powerhouse team Hendrick Motorsports, which provides engine support for both its NNS and NCWTS programs, and Earnhardt Technology Group for drive train and suspension technology assistance. For more information on Turner Scott Motorsports, visit www.TurnerScottMotorsports.com.