NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
ROUND OF EIGHT: RACE ONE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
OCTOBER 19, 2024
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
COMING OFF A WIN LAST WEEKEND, YOU’RE COMING TO A TRACK THAT YOU’VE WON AT THE PAST TWO TIMES. TALK ABOUT THE CONFIDENCE YOU HAVE GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND.
“Yeah, I mean I think winning for sure helps the confidence. But also coming to a track where we do have a lot of success at helps, probably more than anything. So yeah, I’m just looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully, our car has good speed and a good balance, like it has the last couple of times here. It would be nice to get another win, or at least start the round better than we started the other two rounds and gain points.”
DOES YOUR MINDSET AS A RACECAR DRIVER CHANGE AT ALL IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH HOW YOU ATTACK A RACE OR START A RACE, OR IS THERE ANY CHANGE IN YOUR MINDSET FROM A REGULAR SEASON RACE TO A PLAYOFF RACE?
“Not a whole lot.. I don’t think so. I think it probably depends on your points situation and such, but I don’t know.. I feel like whenever the playoffs come around, you’re just a little bit more focused and trying not to be too risky, and in a way, kind of limit the risk.. at least in our points position. So that’s kind of how I feel like I’ve been throughout the playoffs this year. But even a lot of other years, too, and it seems to work out.”
ARE YOU MORE CAREFUL?
“Yeah, I think you’re just a little bit more calculated, probably, in a way. I think that sometimes in the regular season, I think you’re willing to take more risks sometimes, just because you know you’ve got 15 more races or something until the playoffs. So you can take that risk and it doesn’t damage you as much if it doesn’t work out. Where I think in the playoffs, if you’re above the cutline, you’re more kind of cautious and limiting that risk.”
THIS IS JUST THE THIRD TIME THAT THE PREVIOUS YEAR’S CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR HAVE ALL ADVANCED TO THE ROUND OF EIGHT. WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT SAYS ABOUT THESE FOUR TEAMS AND THE STRENGTH THAT THEY HAVE?
“Yeah, sure.. I think it says that the four teams have a lot of strengths. But I think to me, I feel like in other eras of like the Gen-6 car – it was changing a lot.. like the rules were different kind of each year and there was more development going on throughout the year between teams. Now, I just feel like teams are very similar to how they were last year, just because there’s not really much developing in the cars.. or as much as there was. There’s always development within the teams; setups and what they’re finding here and there, but it’s probably a lot smaller than it used to be. So I think that’s why you see teams being more consistently good year-to-year, probably, right now.”
DO YOU HAVE AN ORDER OF CELEBRATION FOR YOUR KIDS.. DOES OWEN GET THE NEXT ONE, OR ARE THEY FIGHTING OVER IT? HOW DOES THAT WORK?
“(Laughs) No, I don’t know.. it just worked out where – obviously you don’t plan to win when you bring your kids. But at Bristol, I had Owen by myself, and then at the (Charlotte) ROVAL last weekend, Audrey was with me. Thankfully it worked out that way. They’re all here this weekend, so it would be nice to win and have them all there and part of the victory. But no, there’s no order, I guess (laughs).”
DOES KATELYN GIVE YOU ANY ORDERS OF WHAT YOU CAN DO?
“I wear the pants, Bob (laughs). No, I’m just kidding.. we all know that’s not true (laughs).
When she (Katelyn) first watched Bristol, when I had Owen on the door, she thought he was just hanging to like the roof with his fingertips. She didn’t realize I had him in an arm lock inside the car. So yeah, she was more comfortable with it with Audrey. And I’m going super slow, too.”
I KNOW IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE TEAM TO HAVE ALL FOUR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS IN THE ROUND OF EIGHT AND GOING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. WITH (ALEX) BOWMAN’S SITUATION LAST WEEKEND, HOW MUCH OF A BUMMER HAS THAT BEEN, AND WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD THAT NEWS?
“Yeah, I had heard during victory lane what was going on.. when we were doing pictures, interviews and stuff. For me, I’m like – man, I just hope something changes.. like the scales were off or something. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was just a huge bummer for everybody that’s a part of Hendrick Motorsports; Rick and Linda (Hendrick). Having four cars in the Round of Eight.. like that’s a huge feat and it’s something that I think everyone was really proud of.
Yeah, just a bummer that it worked out that way. I feel terrible for Alex. It’s really got nothing to do with him. He did everything possible. He’s done a great job throughout the playoffs. Definitely the most improved, I feel like, out of any driver in the playoffs, or any driver in the series, over these first-six races or whatever it’s been. Yeah, just super bummed for him and their whole team. Really just all of Hendrick Motorsports.. it would have been cool to come here to Las Vegas and have a 50 percent shot of getting Rick and Linda a championship.”
BUILDING OFF OF THAT, DOES THAT PUT THINGS BACK INTO PERSPECTIVE.. LIKE ARE YOU THE KIND OF PERSON THAT TYPICALLY WAITS FOR THE OFFICIAL RESULTS AFTER POST-RACE INSPECTION? HOW MUCH DO YOU NOT CONSIDER YOURSELF THE OFFICIAL WINNER UNTIL INSPECTION IS OVER, OR HOW DO YOU VIEW THAT?
“I don’t know.. I mean, I don’t really know. I just know like, whenever we’re doing victory lane and stuff, and then they’re like ‘OK team, you’re clear to take the car to tech’, you’re always like ‘man, I hope it’s good’ (laughs). For me, I have no idea how it’s going. So when I get done in the media center, get done with all the interviews and head back, I’m like ‘how’s it going guys’. Thankfully, it’s always been good. There’s been a couple of times where it’s gotten sketchy a little bit. For like the driver’s side, we don’t have anything to do with building the cars. So we’re kind of just hoping it’s all good.”
SO WITH WHAT HAPPENED LAST SUNDAY, IF YOU WIN THIS SUNDAY, ARE YOU GOING TO BE A LITTLE MORE MINDFUL OF THAT?
“I’m not because I just drive (laughs). No, it wouldn’t be any different than how I’ve felt before. You just hope you pass tech. I’m sure every driver, not just Hendrick Motorsports drivers; I’m sure every driver, anytime you win, it’s like once they take the car, they’re thinking the same thing I’m thinking.. ‘now we just have to get through tech’ (laughs).”
YOU’VE BEEN SO DOMINANT AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY IN PAST YEARS. ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING MORE TRADITIONAL TRACKS IN THIS ROUND?
“Yeah, I look forward to it because, for one, there are tracks that we’re good at. But more than anything, I just really love Homestead. We only get to go there once a year, whereas a lot of intermediates we go to twice a year.. Las Vegas, Kansas. Charlotte, I guess, is once a year. But Homestead, I wish we could go there twice because I just love the track. So yeah, I look forward to going there because – one, I love it, and we’re really, really fast there. And yeah, it’s just a good track for us.”
WHEN YOU GET INTO A GROOVE WHERE YOU LEAD 199 OF 267 LAPS, DOES YOUR CONFIDENCE JUST BUILD THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF A RUN LIKE THAT? CAN YOU GET COMPLACENT BECAUSE YOU JUST KIND OF FEEL LIKE YOU’RE IN A GROOVE? WHAT GOES THROUGH A DRIVER’S MIND WHEN YOU’RE HAVING THAT SOLID OF A RUN?
“Yeah, I mean definitely, at least for myself, not getting complacent because when you’re car is that good – I feel like throughout my career, I’ve dominated a lot of races and I’ve lost more than I’ve won, you know, in those dominating runs. And then I feel like a lot of times, it’s because you do get complacent, and you’re like – oh, my car is perfect.. I don’t need to work on it or whatever during a pit stop. And then those other teams are chasing you throughout the race. They’re already trying to tune their setups; giving feedback and whatnot. And then it comes down to a 20-lap run; you’ll be on a restart and (inaudible). So I think losing a lot of races where I dominated, I’ve become still more focused on – alright, this is what I’m feeling. And yeah, I think we’ve done a better job of keeping up with the racetrack; keeping up with the pace and all that sort of stuff.”
WHEN YOU THINK OF LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, JOEY LOGANO GOT THAT EIGHTH SPOT. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT, GIVEN HIS SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD HERE?
“Yeah, I mean obviously, I would have loved to have had Alex (Bowman) in the Round of Eight. But yeah, Joey (Logano) is dangerously good.. like you can never count him out anywhere. So yeah, he’s the guy that gets the benefit of it, and it’s like – dang man, he’s a tough competitor… he’s one you have to keep your eye on. Yeah, I mean everybody in the playoffs is really good. Even the four or eight guys that have missed making it this far, they’re all great teams and drivers.”
TO THAT POINT, THIS ROUND OF EIGHT REALLY FEELS LIKE A STACKED FIELD. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE EIGHT DRIVERS THAT HAVE ADVANCED TO THIS POINT?
“Yeah, I mean there are a lot of wins, championships and all that, currently in the Round of Eight. So yeah, it’s a tough, tough group of teams and drivers. So yeah, I mean I think it’s good. You want it to be that way. I don’t know if we all expected it to be that way, with how the tracks lined up on the schedule. But the cream has risen, and yeah, I think it’s going to be an ultra-competitive round, just like every time the Round of Eight comes around. It’s always competitive. It comes down to the final few laps at Martinsville, and this year will probably be no different.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT THE MINDSET IN RACES THAT YOU DOMINATED. I’M CURIOUS, AFTER THE DEFEATS IN PREVIOUS CASES, WHAT’S THE PROCESS OF GETTING BETTER?
“I don’t know.. I mean just going through the experience of losing. You learn from all of those. And then in the times of winning, you learn from that, too. And it’s not just all myself.. it’s the whole team that gains that experience, whether it be the pit crew, the guys on the box, the engineers back at the shop. Like we’re all learning each week, no matter how it goes. So yeah, I think there’s a number of reasons why I’ve lost races that I’ve dominated before. It hasn’t always been on my end, but there’s also been a lot of races where the team has helped me win. It’s a team sport, and there’s not one single individual that is more important than anybody else.”
IS THERE A DIFFERENT FEELING, PRESSURE.. I DON’T’ KNOW WHAT THE WORD MIGHT BE, BUT WHEN YOU GET TO THIS ROUND, KNOWING WE’RE ONE ROUND AWAY FROM PHOENIX, DOES THIS ROUND FEEL ANY DIFFERENTLY?
“I think in the first couple years that I ever made the Round of Eight.. yeah. You know, like you feel the pressure of it a little bit, or you put more pressure on yourself, or whatever the case may be. Where I think after you make it to the Championship Four, the final round, a few different times, it kind of calms your nerves a little bit.. at least for me. And I think a lot of that comes with just confidence you have in the group of people around you. So no, I feel the same I did the other rounds leading into it. Just excited to go racing. Excited for the opportunity. It’s a privilege to be this far into the playoffs; seeing all of the hard work of the regular season and the playoff races to this point and getting yourself to where you’re at in the points. So yeah, I’m just ready to go; ready to have a good time. Hopefully we can execute at a high level and find ourselves with an opportunity to race for a championship in Phoenix.”
YOU’VE BEEN ASKED ABOUT THE EIGHT DRIVERS THAT ARE IN THIS ROUND. THERE’S THREE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS.. TYLER REDDICK, THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION. AND THEN YOU HAVE CHRISTOPHER BELL, WHO’S GOT THE BEST AVERAGE FINISH. TO ME, IT SEEMS LIKE HE’S KIND OF FLYING UNDER THE RADAR..
“Always (laughs).. I mean, always. Like I got asked the question last week, like who’s the guy, and I mentioned four or five people without mentioning Christopher (Bell). And like, he’s so good; sneaky.. like very sneaky, quiet, good. I mean that’s his personality, too. Just quiet. He’s not out talking about how good he’s doing, he’s just doing it. Him and his team are super strong. Yeah, I think they’ve been doing a great job over the last three years, or whatever it’s been.
And two, I’ve raced with Christopher for so long, so I know how good he is. He is just a quiet, just a smooth, person.. smooth racer. Yeah, for whatever reason, he’s flown under the radar his whole NASCAR career, I feel like.”
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