Rookie Larson continues to impress with runner-up finish at Loudon
Kyle Larson did not make the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup. No one would know it, though, from his performance in the first two Chase races.
After finishing an impressive third in last weekend's Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, the Sprint Cup Series rookie improved one position with a second-place showing in Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Unlike Chicagoland, where Larson waged a fierce late-race battle with Kevin Harvick for the lead before both drivers lost out to Brad Keselowski, Larson never led at New Hampshire.
Starting from the 10th position, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver actually struggled early before fighting his way back and lining up fourth for the race's final restart with two laps to go.
On that restart, Larson passed Harvick and Keselowski to come home runner-up to race winner Joey Logano and match his career-best finish.
Larson also finished second in March at Auto Club Speedway.
"We struggled quite a bit most of the weekend," said Larson, who recorded his seventh top-five finish of the season. "Then to start the race, I started 10th, fell back to, I think, almost outside of the top 20. We definitely weren't even a top 15 car for the first hundred laps of the race.
"Everyone on the Target team did a great job. Pretty crazy how it went from bad to really good with a flip of a switch, it seemed like. Didn't think we'd be a second-place finisher. We weren't a second-place car by any means."
Larson finished third in the July New Hampshire race, his first Sprint Cup Series outing at the flat 1.058-mile track, so the young driver clearly has unearthed some magic at the track nicknamed "The Magic Mile," which on Sunday produced 15 cautions, many of them for wrecks involving Chase drivers.
So what exactly has been the key to Larson's quick success at Loudon?
"I really don't know," he said. "I feel like this is the type of track that doesn't suit my driving style. I really think it's just 'cause I got a good team. They get me up front at the end of the races. It's so hard to pass here. Once you get up front, if you just maintain your ground, hopefully you don't back up.
"That's kind of what we did both races here at Loudon, was do some pit strategy things the first race to get up front, and stayed there the whole race. Then this race, once all the cautions started happening, we just missed the wrecks, would line up in the right rows, get to the front. The 55 (Brian Vickers) had to pit in front of us for fuel. We were kind of gambling, I guess, but the cautions worked out."
With his second consecutive top-five finish, the 22-year-old driver continues to turn heads and garner the respect of veteran peers such as four-time Jeff Gordon, who predicted after Chicagoland that it would only be a matter of time before Larson goes to Victory Lane.
"Yeah, I mean, it means a lot," Larson said. "I think it means a lot to them to see a rookie that can battle with them up front each and every week, race them hard but race them clean. Got to do the same thing I've been doing, but hopefully start winning races."
VIDEO: Kyle Larson talks about his runner-up finish in Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
