Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Is he ?????

No

He's getting a little old so he should come back to the dirt tracks

I still confident in saying no.  I know he didn't have a championship caliber season last year, but I feel he proved that he belongs at the level he is at.  A couple of other examples people have brought up were Casey Atwood and Joey Logano.  Casey never did show promise at the top level before fading out.  Joey took 10 years to get to where he is at without really showing anything in the first years at all--at least at this level.  (he did look good at the Xfinity level a number of times)

I think if you look at this objectively, it is a classic sophomore slump--more for the team than the driver.  Today--finished a number of laps down after posting a 2nd and 3rd place in his first 2 visits to the track.  Granted-he got caught speeding-but he didn't just all of the sudden forget how to drive a track he had an average finish of 2.5 last year.  He has made a number of mistakes already (1st one was signing with Chip Ganassi), all of which he will learn from.  Let's put everything into perspective;  while he has obviously made a number of his own mistakes, he has been caught in some bad luck too.  He missed a race (and all points that go with it) after being the fastest car in practice.  He was running top 5 or 6 at Sonoma with 3 or 4 laps to go and finishes in 16th or 17th place.  

Bottom line-it isn't like he has not shown that he can be fast-he can.  It isn't like he is out of it--he's not.  The last two weeks did not help his chances, but I feel like he could show up and win a race at any time yet.  I had given up on Logano five years ago and all of the sudden, here he is.  I don't think the wait will be that long with Larson nor do I feel he will fade away like Atwood.  He has already shown more at this point in his career than either of those two did in 5 years. 

Consider the supporting cast...

Member of this message board since 1997

Exactly.   It ain't like he's driving for Hendrick or Gibbs.   Considering the team he's not doing bad.    Definetly not a flash in the pan.

When he first arrived, Larson drove NASCAR like a dirt track driver, sliders included.  By no longer driving the dirt, he has become just another NASCAR driver and lost the edge the dirt style brought to his pavement racing.  

One other thing i think is happening this year is the power  that has been taken away from the cars this year. When everyone was worried about him making the jump to cup too soon, Tony Stewart  said on a number of occasions that he feels the higher horsepower  cup cars were going to be a good fit for Kyle. In my opinion that has something to do wit it too. He had a really good year last year IMO. Now look  him and Tony  this year. Tony says it's all him and not his team. he just hasn't  got a handle on the new package. I personally feel  this lack of power   has   been an issue with both Kyle and Tony. This is my opinion.  

Finally livin the dirt dream.

By no longer driving the dirt? Obviously you were not at Winter Heat in January, just 6 months ago.  The night he won the feature was one of the best races I have ever witnessed and probably one of the best he ever ran.  I hope he is there again this year, along with other NASCAR regulars. 

Has he been running any Xfinity races?  It seems he has been absent from them or is it my imagination?  If he isn't running--why?   He should be running the Kyle Busch schedule and spending as much time running pavement races as possible.

X2

why would you even bring this subject up.  He is young and has some things to learn but he will do just fine.  Do not be surprised if he lands  a ride with a top team soon.

The biggest mistake he made was not taking the lower level deal to go to Hendrick and taking Ganassi because he had a Cup Car ready for him. It would have taken a few more years to get to the Cup level, but it would have him sitting in that 24 car next year and not Chase Elliot. Jeff Gordon has said on multiple occaisons that his biggest regret was not convincing Larson to sign with them. I get it, he took the quick route and it may pay off at some point. But obviously Hendrick is the place to be and when Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick come calling, I think anybody would be smart to listen

Don't judge him be yesterdays race. He was at Eldora Speedway until at leaset 5 in morning watching his winged sprint car team win the KING'S ROYAL.

Montoya didn't really do anything in the 42 car, won a few races is all. He goes back to Indy cars and 2 years later he is leading the points. I know they are different cars but that alone tells me something about the 42 ride in nascar. I wouldn't consider Larson a flash in the pan yet, although I did think he would have won some races by now.

Who's fault was that... I'm sprint car to the bone but with those big NASCAR paychecks comes a big responsibility to the team... I would not be too impressed especially after his health questions early this year... not too smart. IMO

I thought he would too.  An early poster said he should have waited for the 24 ride--agree with that too--now.  I have to admit, I thought he could single-handedly turn the 42 team around with his driving abilities and was excited that he got the Ganassi ride.  WRONG!  That team is just not where the top 10-15 teams are at.  Couple that with some Sophomore mistakes and some bad luck and you have a mediocre season at best. 

Flash in the Pan!!!!! Some posts are not even worth replying to! Oops I just did.