Kyle Larson wasn’t particularly optimistic about his speed at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday. A few hours later, qualifying gave him another reason to be concerned.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will start Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500 from 22nd after struggling to find the pace he needed during practice and qualifying. It was a disappointing afternoon for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, particularly with the championship battle entering its final stretch.
But Larson had already offered a surprisingly candid assessment of his performance at the one-mile Arizona oval.
He thinks his team has been getting better results at Phoenix than its cars have deserved.
Kyle Larson Makes Surprising Admission About Phoenix Struggles
Speaking with reporters Saturday, Larson acknowledged that his recent finishes don’t necessarily reflect how competitive he’s been throughout those races.
“I think if you would dig through and pull up average speed throughout a race, I think it would show … why I feel like we suck,” Larson said.
It’s a striking assessment from a driver who has finished inside the top five in each of his last four Phoenix starts, including three consecutive third-place finishes.
Larson wasn’t dismissing those results. Instead, he credited his team for finding ways to finish near the front even when the No. 5 Chevrolet hasn’t been among the fastest cars.
“We’re able to finish well, but I think that has a lot to do with just team execution,” he explained.
Larson estimated that his car has typically ranked somewhere between eighth and 13th in speed at Phoenix.
“We’ve had a couple decent ones, but never do we come here and we’re like the fastest,” he said.
For a driver accustomed to competing for victories, consistently finishing well without having race-winning speed is a distinction worth making.
Larson Faces an Uphill Battle After Phoenix Qualifying
Saturday’s on-track results did little to challenge Larson’s assessment.
The No. 5 team struggled during practice before Larson managed only the 22nd-fastest qualifying effort, leaving him with considerable ground to make up Sunday.
Meanwhile, Team Penske swept the front row. Ryan Blaney claimed the pole, with Joey Logano joining him on the outside. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five, giving Joe Gibbs Racing three consecutive starting positions behind the Penske teammates.
The qualifying result creates an immediate challenge for Larson, who entered the weekend leading Hamlin by 49 points in the Cup Series championship standings.
He has repeatedly demonstrated that a poor starting position doesn’t have to dictate his finishing position. His recent Phoenix record is evidence of how effectively the No. 5 team can manage a race, even without dominating it.
But Larson made clear Saturday that finishing well and having a genuinely fast car aren’t always the same thing.
Now he’ll need his team to overcome that difference once again.
