Kyle Larson on Sonoma strategy: 'I didn't know what we were doing'

Don’t ask Kyle Larson about strategies, all he does is drive the car. The driver talked about his lack of knowledge after his big Sonoma win. Then again, when you have Cliff Daniels on the pit box, you don’t need to worry about strategy as a NASCAR driver.

Crew chiefs and drivers each have their own quirks and tasks on race day. Some drivers like to know more about the car than others, and there are some who even like to weigh in on how the cars are set up.

That is not how Kyle Larson operates. It is his job to drive and listen to Cliff Daniels, not do the math in his own head.

“Yeah I was, I didn’t know what we were doing as far as strategy you know I was just out there banging laps away,” Larson said after the race. “I don’t know, we study all the strategy but it’s like doing homework, I don’t know what I’m looking at.

“So yeah I was like, ‘Well, man these guys have to pit another time maybe.’ But then we said we had to go race and pass those guys I got a bit nervous. I knew I would be quick from the get-go but I thought once the tires would come up to temp it would even off too much.”

An angle of the last-lap incident between @KyleBusch and @RossChastain. pic.twitter.com/DZv5WwVQhs

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 9, 2024

Kyle Larson puts his trust into Cliff Daniels and it pays off almost on a weekly basis. This is the 20th time that the two have won together since Larson moved to Hendrick Motorsports. They are far from done, too.

Kyle Larson gets another win on the season

For the third time this season, Kyle Larson is in Victory Lane. Las Vegas, Kansas, and Sonoma. Those are three very different races and he won them in very different ways. Las Vegas, he dominated. Kansas, it was a photo-finish over Chris Buescher. Today, it was all about the strategy.

Larson has once again shown that he is the best driver in the Cup Series. The fact he is paired up with Daniels as his crew chief only makes him more dangerous and hard to beat on the track.

With a long pit strategy playing out to end the race, things were looking iffy. You never know if you are going to catch the leaders and if you do, passing them is a completely different question.

Today, Kyle Larson had the best strategy and was the fastest driver on the track. He turned that into another win and will likely take over the points lead from Denny Hamlin once again.