Racer Kyle Larson working the long game

NEWTON, Iowa — I suppose if I’m going to be in the passenger seat of a Corvette going 100 mph down the short backstretch of Iowa Speedway, I’m going to be comfortable with Kyle Larson as the driver.
The NASCAR Cup Series driver was in Iowa on the series’ last off weekend of the season to drive a sprint car at Knoxville Raceway, but made a stop at Iowa Speedway on Friday to promote the August 3 Iowa Corn 350 at the .875-mile oval.
Larson can drive pretty much anything and drive it well — he’ll be doing the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double on Memorial Day weekend again this season, and it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to think he could win both races.
Part of the day was spent giving media members rides in the track’s pace car, so I took the opportunity to get in a few laps with Larson.
He explained the nuances of the tight track to me in a conversation that was like two guys driving down the highway except we were diving into the turns as he would on race day, albeit at a little bit of a slower speed.
I’ve done the pace car rides at the track many times before — Regan Smith, Kenny Wallace, Austin Dillon and Elliott Sadler were some of the drivers — and it’s an opportunity to a.) see what kind of line they drive and b.) see how close they get to the wall on the backstretch and by the start/finish line.
The acceleration off pit road was a sign Larson wanted to get some speed out of the Corvette, and I was fine with it.
When Larson got done taking all of us around the track, we got some one-on-one time with him, and of course I had to ask him why, less than a week after practically sweeping the previous weekend at Bristol — he won the Cup Series and Xfinity Series races and finished second in the Truck Series race — he was going to be in a sprint car for the World of Outlaws races at Knoxville.
For Larson, it was playing the long game. He wants to win the Knoxville Nationals at the track in August, and although he’s been at the track many times before, including last season’s victory, he still wanted the education.
“I have a lot of fun, and I love Knoxville,” said Larson, who finished second in Saturday’s A-Main. “And it was just an opportunity to get ready for the Nationals, which is important. So, glad that we were able to make it out for this and hopefully, hopefully it goes good, hopefully you learn something and get even better.”
It’s hard to be better for Larson these days. He has two wins and five top-5s in the Cup Series this season as he sits fourth in the point standings.
He’s just a few weeks away from attempting the Indy/Charlotte double again. Larson finished 18th in the rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 last season, then by the time he got to Charlotte to at least some of the 600, the race was in a delay that would eventually wipe out the rest of the race.
“There was nothing that really surprised me last year,” he said. “I felt like (IndyCar) was very similar to Cup racing. I think just how traffic in the race is different than in practice, maybe that is all that I would be better prepared for this time.”
Larson was looking forward to being back at Iowa Speedway for the August race. He finished 34th in last season’s inaugural Cup Series race at the track, although he led 80 laps.
What impressed Larson that day was the crowd — it was a sellout, and this year’s race is close to being sold out as well, with approximately 200 tickets still available.
“I was just happy to see that (the fans) were happy to have NASCAR racing here once again, especially the Cup Series,” Larson said. “So yeah, I got to see a lot of familiar faces from dirt racing fans here, and that always feels good. And then the racing on track was great as well. So yeah, I thought the atmosphere and everything made for a good weekend. Can’t wait to do it again.”
I thanked him for the fast laps and headed home. A ride down Interstate 80 was still ahead, but it wasn’t going to be as fun.
John Bohnenkamp is an award-winning sports reporter and regular contributor to Pen City Current.