At Bristol Motor Speedway in March of this year, Larson scored 44 points for finishing in fifth position in the Food City 500. With fast tire changes, the No. 5 crew was able to retain position and pace, keeping the American ahead of the opposition.
During the post-race press conference on Saturday, Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports asked Larson when he realized he could run 100 laps on his tires, which was a big improvement over the 40 or 50 laps he’d run in the spring race.
“I would estimate that during practice, by lap ten… I thought it would be okay because I hadn’t noticed any [marbles]. Sure, I knew you guys probably thought the spring race was better, but as a driver, I would much rather run 500 laps at 100% all night long than run 50%. That being said, I was thrilled. That doesn’t seem like much of a race to me.
On lap 34, Larson overtook teammate Alex Bowman to win the first stage. On lap 131, the No. 5 team maintained the lead with a four-tire pit stop, winning the second stage. On Lap 333, Larson was the first out of the pits once more following a speedy four-tire change. The performance of the Goodyear tires at the race on Saturday night was unexpectedly better than what it was at the same circuit in March, when Denny Hamlin won.
More than any other winner at Bristol since Cale Yarborough in 1977, Larson led 462 of 500 laps while operating the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Additionally, he broke Jeff Gordon’s record and established a new one for Hendrick Motorsports in terms of most laps led in a single race.
“I don’t know, but I grew up racing various things where you do push (0:57) the entire race. I find that iteration of Bristol to be far more thrilling,” he continued.
Kyle Larson completed 500 laps in 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 53 seconds at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
Regarding the racing conditions in Bristol, Kyle Larson’s crew chief said, “A lot to do just with ambient temps and track temp.”
Track and tire temperatures varied between last autumn, this spring, and the most recent race at Bristol Motor Speedway, according to Cliff Daniels, crew chief for Kyle Larson.
“The changes in the fall of last year, the spring of this year, and the current day are mostly related to the ambient and track temperatures…As the tire grows hotter, a small amount of oil begins to leak out of the surface, tack it up, and then improve its adhesion to the surface. In addition, before we ever went onto the track, we had two or three days of racing here,” Daniels remarked.
Daniels continued, “The weather-induced changes at the track make it difficult to replicate the conditions from the spring race.”
“I believe that due of the element of surprise, it would be very difficult to reproduce this spring. At the concrete tracks, I believe it to be a genuine thing,” he continued.
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