The final day of the 2016 Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour was dubbed Chevrolet Day for a good reason. The top teams running Chevrolets made their way to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the very top of the list of Chevy teams, is Chip Ganassi Racing.
Kyle Larson, the “can’t miss” star of 2014 will start 2016 with a new crew chief. Chad Johnston will guide the No. 42 car to a more successful season. When Larson was asked what went wrong last season, he made it clear.
“My biggest issue was the rules changes didn’t really work out for our team,” Larson said. “In 2014, I thought the rules package really suited our team well. We were always really fast on the mile-and-a-halves. When NASCAR cut the horsepower, it definitely didn’t suit my driving style.
“This year with the lower downforce it will be back to kind of suiting my driving style. I wish we had a little more horsepower, but we don’t, so we got to get the hang of it.”
Larson, who was Rookie of the Year during the 2014 Cup Series, didn’t win and had fewer top fives and top 10’s. His former crew chief left the team the day the season was over to take a position with another team. Johnston has been the crew chief for Tony Stewart the last two years. The two haven’t had much time to talk, but Johnston admitted he and Larson had talked by telephone many times in the off-season to “bounce ideas off each other.”
“Kyle’s pretty soft-spoken and laid back, and I think that’s kind of my approach, try to keep an even temperament whether things are going good or going bad,” Johnston said. “So I think that will help. Calmer heads will prevail. When you stay calm in tough situations, you think more rationally. On that aspect, we’re a lot alike.”
Jamie McMurray, the other driver for Ganassi Racing, is looking for a rebound season, too. McMurray didn’t win in 2015 either but looks forward to what should be a better 2016.
