Kyle Larson reacts to his mouthpiece data helping drive changes to Watkins Glen
After last year’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, turned in mouthpiece data. That data let NASCAR know there was a dangerous section of the race track that was being overlooked.
Drivers had complained about intense headaches racing at The Glen in the Next Gen car. It was enough to make a number of drivers wear mouthpieces last year.
The data from Kyle Larson and others showed that drivers were taking 18Gs of force to the head every time they went through the bus stop. The violence of the turns was causing major headaches, and that is not good for drivers or the racing product.
Larson talked to the media about those changes ahead of practice and qualifying at Watkins Glen.
“It looks a lot smoother, looks faster probably getting into it,” said Larson, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “So, interested to get out there and see kinda how it changes the driving style.”
While Larson was one of the drivers involved, he wasn’t the only one. Multiple teams complained about the effects of racing at The Glen. With the way the Next Gen is built, a change was needed.
“Yeah I mean, I don’t know if I was the sole guy to spark the change. I think after reading, that article was really long so I didn’t read the whole thing, but I did read the beginning of it. It did sound like there was a lot of guys who had reached out after and said their heads hurt. So, yeah I think it was a collaborative effort amongst all the drivers and thankfully NASCAR was receptive to it.”
It wasn’t just racing. This track was abusing drivers in practice and qualifying, too.
Kyle Larson emphasizes pain of old Watkins Glen track
Now, drivers like Kyle Larson can just focus on racing. Hopefully, with a faster track and less headaches, drivers are able to race more.
“Well it, it’s not just after it’s during. It’s probably, I mean you’re feeling it after practice and qualifying,” continued Larson. “So, yeah it just, it just, I don’t know. You’re just annoyed and your head hurts and I don’t know, you just don’t feel crisp and clear. You don’t wreck, either. That is pretty eye-opening I felt like to have the feeling you have.
“It wasn’t just last year it was the year before too. It was just, I don’t know if I had the mouthpiece in 22, but I was just curious to see the results of it, and I was hoping it was going to look how it did. Because if not, it’s like dang, how do we fix this internally inside the car with my helmet and headrest and all that. Thankfully the results showed that there is a lot of moments over there and it’s an area of the track where they were able to change the curbing and stuff and it seems smoother watching it.”
Will the new changes create better racing? Hard to tell. Kyle Larson and the other drivers are probably more focused on the new, softer tire at Watkins Glen.