Sunday’s Daytona 500 will be Kyle Larson’s first race back in the NASCAR Cup Series since last March. Everyone knows the story and how he has gotten to where he is today. The summer to remember became a second Chili Bowl championship and the Elk Grove, California native looks to keep that level of success going into the season.
Larson makes his return to Cup Series racing with Hendrick Motorsports and all eyes will be on him. For one reason or another, there is nobody at Daytona Speedweeks who will have more people watching to see what he does. Larson will have that following in many different forms this weekend.
As an industry, many want to see how he transitions back into a Cup Series ride. Larson is by far one of the most talented race car drivers of this era. We saw that this past summer in a sprint car, late model, midget ride. You name it, Larson won in it.
Now the question is how does he return to the series? Prior to last year’s dismissal from Chip Ganassi Racing, Larson was on the top of his game and sixth in the points standings. At the time it was his best start to a season in his Cup Series career.
This means many people within NASCAR are going to want to see how Larson does. Also many outside of NASCAR. Not just fans of the sport but potential business partners for the sport and Larson. As it stands, all of Larson’s sponsor support comes from Rick Hendrick affiliated businesses. Sunday he will have Nation Guard on the car and in future events it will be HendrickCars.com.
For Larson it’s going to be about building back up that marketability that he once had. Unfortunately for Larson, he has yet to get the big sponsor backing that he once had. Success definitely cures a lot of those issues but so does him showing others he’s better for his mistake.
That will be the biggest draw for future sponsors is to see if he truly is better for it. As we found out this summer he’s done so much to get back into this opportunity. Sunday is now his first chance on track to do something. Will things all go well? It’s hard to say considering it’s been almost a year since he’s been in a car. One thing is for sure, he will definitely be in good hands heading to Daytona and that’s another reason for many eyes on him.
Obviously, you can only tell so much from Daytona and the Daytona 500. It’s a very risky race or as many call it, ‘high-speed chess.’ This race will be a precursor to the rest of the season. However, if there is a team to start the year at Daytona with, there is no better than Hendrick Motorsports given their track record there.
.@KyleLarsonRacin will hit the track with Hendrick Motorsports for the first time this year @DAYTONA in the No. 5 @NationsGuard Chevy — who’s ready? 🙌 pic.twitter.com/rKMJHPq744
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) February 8, 2021
Larson will have many eyes is because of what he did last year in a sprint car that’s for sure but also Sunday will have eyes on him because of the team he drives for and the equipment he’s in always runs well at Daytona. Hendrick cars have won eight Daytona 500’s, so Larson is going to have a chance from day one.
The other draw that will have eyes on Larson is the dirt scene. After his summer to remember, Larson will have one of the bigger fan followings simply because of the dirt track fans wanting to see him have success there. There are things that he did this summer that just brought out the WOW factor. Anything he raced you wanted to know how he did and what he did to win it.
That was an every night occurrence for him. More and more people soon followed suite. There’s no reason to think that his when he returns to racing action this week in Daytona that it won’t be any different.
He tore up dirt tracks all across the country and fans flocked to him following events. This season will be no different, except they will be watching from afar. If there is anyone to unite the dirt track scene with pavement, especially NASCAR racing, it’s Kyle Larson.
There is no doubt a lot of pressure for him this season. From fans to sponsors and everything in between, Larson still has a lot to prove in 2021 on and off the track. Although, that could change quickly, especially if wins happen early on.
