Kyle Larson Explained What Happened When He Got To The Back Of…

Kyle Larson Explained What Happened When He Got To The Back Of…
Nov 13, 2023

illiam Byron is
starting where he left off at Phoenix Raceway.

Byron, the winner at the 1-mile track in March, won the pole Saturday for the
NASCAR Cup Series championship race

Sunday.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver is one of four in the 36-car field who have a
shot at the title. Byron, teammateKyle Larson
(starting fourth), Joe
Gibbs Racing’sChristopher Bell
(13th) and Team
Penske’sRyan Blaney
(15th) are eligible to win the championship, and the driver among those four
who finishes best among them will be crowned the 2023 Cup champion.

Byron, seeking his first championship

, has won a series-high six races this season.

I feel like we have something to race with,” Byron said.

Byron led 64 laps in the spring while Larson led 201. They showed no signs
Saturday that they had lost a step and made it appear that the Hendrick
teammates are the ones to beat for the championship.

But the day prior in practice, it was Bell who was fastest in 10-lap average
and Blaney who was second Friday.

“[We] all saw the practice sheets yesterday,” Larson said. “I think the 12 [of
Blaney] and the 20 [of Bell] looked a step better than especially me and even
William a little bit. I was honestly surprised that they didn’t make the [top
10].

“I’m not counting out Blaney or Bell at all. It’s a long race, so they’ll
overcome wherever they start. I’m sure they’ll drive through the field. The
final four guys, most everybody respects or shows a lot of respect to on the
race track and gives a lot of space.”

Larson was the only driver among the four who found the wall during practice
Friday as he scuffed the right rear side of his car. His team had to repair the
viny decal before qualifying Saturday.

“I want to say there’s maybe been 10 times this year we’ve re-vinyled a right
rear quarter panel,” Larson crew chief Cliff Daniels said. “This is perfect.
… Right in line where we need to be.”

That is the nature of the championship contenders. They aren’t going to sweat
an early hiccup in the weekend. They have 312 laps to get ahead of their
competition.

“I’m probably more optimistic because I’ve never won a race from the pole,”
Bell quipped after a disappointing qualifying result.

Blaney carries the most momentum into Phoenix

as he won last week at Martinsville Speedway.

“I didn’t expect to qualify where we did,” Blaney said. “I expected to be a
little bit better. I know qualifying hasn’t really been our strong point this
year really at all. … I am pretty optimistic that we can get our way through
the field.”