Kyle Larson 'happy' with NASCAR safety changes after terrifying wreck with Ryan Preece at Talladega
For Kyle Larson, the recent NASCAR safety changes to the Next Gen car are a bit personal and understandably so. It was Larson’s car that was slammed into by Ryan Preece at high speeds at Talladega. It was also his car that almost gave way as the chassis broke and the 41 car entered the cockpit a bit.
Since that wreck, NASCAR has been working on making the car safer. The ultimate goal was to prevent wrecks like Kyle Larson’s from happening again. Gusset plates were added to the passenger side to reinforce the frame of the car. There were also changes to the front clip.
All-in-all, NASCAR made the front of the cars crush more and the side of the cars stronger. Those changes have made Larson “happy” as they move forward this season. These changes will be applied at Atlanta Motor Speedway in two weeks.
“I mean I’m not an engineer so I don’t know, like, I can’t look at it and really give you an opinion on how well they did with the changes or what,” Larson said, via Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “But I am very happy that me being in that wreck at Talladega and seeing how close it got to being really bad. Seeing them go straight into action and compile data, make quick moves on it, on improving the safety was something I was happy to see. So, yeah I think it’s a great thing and great for them to move along quickly.”
Kyle Larson is pulling double duty this weekend. So, he’s probably more focused on road course racing than he is on superspeedway-style racing at Atlanta. Still, it has to give him some peace of mind moving forward.
Kyle Larson double duty at Sonoma
The California native is back in his home state. This is a home track race for not just Kyle Larson but also drivers like Tyler Reddick and AJ Allmendinger. Not to mention, the last California start for Kevin Harvick. It is a big moment for all of these drivers, for sure.
Larson is set to pilot the No. 17 in the Xfinity Series. He will be in contention to win that race and likely the Cup Series race as well. He’s sporting the Valvoline colors this weekend, meaning that the No. 5 Chevy Camaro looks great in the red color scheme.
Road courses are something that Larson has a knack for. He is so good at hitting the turns hard, braking just right, and shifting. He’s great at almost every type of track, but on the road, he can really show off some of his talents that separate him from your middle-of-the-pack drivers.
This race could come down to Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick. It would be great to see them both have a strong race and really battle for the win. They have both impressed on the road in the past, and it would surely be an instant classic to see them battle it out.