It’s 9:32 PM on a Tuesday Night in Eagle, Nebraska. Michael “Buddy” Kofoid has just won $55,555. It’s his first win in the Eagle Nationals, one of the Crown Jewels of the High Limit Racing Schedule. The defending Eagle Nationals winner, Kyle Larson, is likely sitting somewhere around his hauler contemplating what he could’ve done differently. Larson was caught up in a crash with 12 to go after being a non-factor all night. It’s a night reflective of how things have gone lately for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
The following Sunday, in Mexico City, Mexico, Larson climbs from his car after the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. It’s an abysmal day, a 36th-place finish with the one silver lining being the fact that his badly damaged car managed to grab the fastest lap late in the race. Of course, it wasn’t Larson’s fault that the other Kyle (Busch) lost traction under braking in wet conditions and spun, taking out several cars in the process. But it is the consequence of a mildly concerning streak of underwhelming performances.
What’s Wrong?
While Larson hasn’t been bad per se, he still has been very un-Larson-like. We, rightfully, would expect one of the best racecar drivers on the face of the Earth to be in race-winning form every week, regardless of the type of track. However, since qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, it seems as though the entire #5 team has taken a step back. For reference, the week before Indy 500 Qualifying, Larson dominated at Kansas, leading 221 Laps on his way to victory. A few weeks before that, he did the same at Bristol, leading 411 Laps. So that type of performance was par for the course. As for what is wrong, Kyle Larson has long been seen as unshakeable. But it seems as if the failed attempt at “The Double” (in which he crashed out in both the Indy 500 and Coke 600) got to him a little bit. It may have shaken his confidence.
How Does Larson Get Out of His Slump?
There have been flashes of the race-winning speed we’ve come to expect from Kyle Larson, but nothing consistent. In the All-Star Race, he started from the tail, but he ended up 21st after breaking a toe link. In Charlotte and Mexico City, he was involved in incidents. Nashville was a grind-it-out kind of day, working from a 28th-place starting spot to finish 8th. In Michigan, we saw a glimpse of a potential return to form, but only managed a 5th place when his car was probably a bit stronger than that (Though it is worth noting that he had to save fuel and was nursing a battery issue).
Kyle Larson is in a slump. That’s clear. “The Double” didn’t go well (again), and since then, it seems like he’s just been off his game. Four tracks you would expect him to be in contention for the win at, he was effectively a non-factor, not to mention he hasn’t even won a Sprint Car race in that span either, but you know what they say. Winning cures everything. That feels especially true in this case.
Image Credit: Julian Wayne/ Seriously Fast Media
