With seven more race weeks left until we hit the playoffs in September, now’s as good a time as any for a NASCAR news round-up right? So buckle yourselves in for a series of high-speed twists and turns as we have a quick rundown of the last month or two of racing and have a look into the future to see what’s yet to come. 3… 2… 1… GO GO GO!
June saw us visit 4 different race tracks for 6 different races, those 6 races saw 4 different winners, one man who has been on a bit of a tear lately with 4 wins in the last 7 races, even if one of those was the All-Star Race weekend. Kyle Larson has made a huge push up to the top of the table, sitting second by only 2 points at the time of writing this (June 30th, 2021), the man in front of him Denny Hamlin, who is still yet to register a win this season, but consistency is proving key for him. But we’re not here to talk about him today, let’s talk about Kyle Larson.
So, where do we begin? Let’s start with the last race in May, Sunday 30th to be precise. Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, this race was the first win in what would be a pretty ridiculous 30 or so days for Kyle Larson. Before we truly begin, this wasn’t Larson’s first win of the season, no, he won the Pennzoil 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway back on 7th March, but the last month, in particular, has been a crazy time for Larson.
As I was saying, Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Larson absolutely dominates, starting on pole, goes on to lead 327 of the 400 laps, only challenged by Chase Elliot and William Byron who led 22 and 19 laps apiece. Not only did he absolutely dominate, winning with a 10.051-second lead, with his eighth career win he sealed himself a spot in the playoffs and Larson helped break records by giving Hendrick Motorsports its 269th victory which is the most in NASCAR history!
Next up, only a week later, we arrived at the Toyota Save Mart 350, Sonoma Raceway California. Larson went on to get back-to-back victories, dominating yet another race. Though there were a few accidents, Larson managed to hold off Elliot, his Hendrick Motorsports colleague, and Martin Truex Jr. a three-time winner at Sonoma. BACK TO BACK, this would also be Kyle Larson’s first win at the 2.52-mile road course. Making this his third win of the season and yeah, you got it, the 9th win of his career. Larson was adamant it wasn’t as easy as he made it look, going on to say “It was not easy. Just keeping on the track is tough, especially when you’ve got two of the best behind you on the last restart.”
Unfortunately for Larson, he didn’t end up winning the next race… what a shame, right? Anyway, he quickly fixed that, two weeks on from his Sonoma win, this time at the NASCAR All-Star Race at the Texas Motor Speedway. This one proved to be a big one, earning Larson a $1million paycheck and his second All-Star race victory in three seasons. The 100 lap race came down to the last 8 laps, with a big move, himself and Brad Keselowski who would end up coming in second, splitting Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliot, propelling themselves forward to take the 1-2, though this is only an exhibition, I figured it was still worth talking about.
And it didn’t take Larson long to add yet ANOTHER win to his belt, continuing what NASCAR described as his “Streak of superiority” Larson came out the winner at the Nashville Super Speedway in the Ally 400. Which when you take out the All-Star weekend was his 3rd consecutive regular-season win. If he hadn’t already had his place nailed on in the playoffs, he certainly had now. The race saw 14 different lead changes between 7 different drivers, but among those only Elliott and Kyle Busch led for double digits. Larson led for 264 of the 300 laps, meaning in his 3 wins, of a potential 792 laps, Larson was only trailing for 143 of them, insanity. This made Larson the favourite at most Bookmaker Sportsbook for the next few races, though he didn’t quite make it to 4 in a row in the regular season!
What a guy, what a driver, and what a team right? So, what have we got to come in the next month or so? Well, July only features three races but we’ll list ‘em below anyway!
First up, Sunday, July 4th, It’s time for the “Jockey Made in America 250” at the Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. 62 laps/250 miles. – Starting at 2:30PM ET
Then on Sunday, July 11th, we have the “Quaker State 400” at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton Georgia, 260 laps/400 miles. – Starting at 3:30PM ET
Finally it’s the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, 301 laps/318.46miles. – Starting at 3:00PM ET
That’ll do it for me for this one, how are you enjoying the NASCAR season so far and how excited are you for the playoffs? Not long to go now, September is fast approaching! I suppose the big question on the lips of most NASCAR fans is, will Larson keep up this insane form? He finished 2nd in last weeks Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, so that would suggest he could. Only time will tell, but I’d say he’s most definitely looking forward to July given his recent run!
