Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger, two underdogs entering this season, are beginning to make headway, especially after having strong qualifying efforts at Dover International Raceway this weekend.
Larson, a current rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, qualified fifth after advancing to the final round in qualifying on Saturday – a respectable run for any competitor, including a developing driver.
“Qualifying was pretty good for us, I think we ended up fifth,” Larson explained. “We had a good Cottonelle Chevy in practice and then worked on it a little bit there in our qualifying runs and got a little bit better. So, happy with a top-five starting spot for Sunday’s race, just got to get our race car a little bit better and we should be right up there with the top guys.”
Allmendinger, like Larson, advanced into the final round, however, he placed 11th* quickest after being a bit conservative in his attempts.
“I think the first run I probably under drove a little bit trying to be too smooth with the car,” Allmendinger expressed. “I could see everybody had slowed down a little bit so I was trying to be smooth with it and probably under drove. I was really happy the second run to pick up time and make it into the second group. He concluded with, “We will just try to keep up with the race track now for the rest of the weekend.”
Larson, 22, is making his first appearance at the Monster Mile in the Sprint Cup Series this weekend and according to him, the track has been generous and frustrating, so far.
“I don’t know sometimes I like this place and sometimes I hate it,” Larson further commented. “In the Nationwide car so far today we have been off pretty bad. I feel like we handle okay, but it’s really slow. That is going to be frustrating over there, but then when I come over to the Cup car I actually like the track.”
“It all just depends on how good the car is,” he continued. “This track is definitely tricky and a little bit on the edge. I feel like I’m pretty comfortable around here.”
Allmendinger, 32, claims this is one of his favorite and best racetracks, and his stat line proves that, having posted two top-10 finishes.
“Dover International Speedway is one of my all-time favorite tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit,” Allmendinger said. “It always has been since I came into the sport. It is just an awesome fun place to drive. It will be interesting to see how everything goes this weekend and how the cars work around the track especially with the new rules we have this year.”
The underrated duo, of Larson and Allmendinger, will be able to showcase their talents beginning at 1:00 PM EST on Sunday when the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks takes the green flag.
