Published 01/03/2023, 10:30 AM EST
Last year, the Los Angeles Coliseum made its NASCAR Cup Series debut. Safe to say, the inaugural race was a relative success, culminating with Joey Logano winning. However, in the buildup to the race, there were plenty of concerns about the track itself. Since it was so small, people were worried that there would be an adverse effect on racing quality. One of the concerned parties is the 2021 Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson.
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He told the Shifting Gears podcast, “Honestly, I remember from the race weekend. I thought it was going to be virtually impossible to pass, and you were going to have to move people out of the way. There is a lot of disparity in people’s setups and stuff at the time. It seemed like you could pass if you were faster than the guy in front of you. You can catch them pretty easily and pass them pretty easily.”
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What else did Kyle Larson say about the LA Coliseum?
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The Hendrick Motorsports star acknowledged that he was quite happy with how the overall race played out. Even though he lost out, Larson still enjoyed the race and is looking forward to seeing it return next month. Of course, 2022 was the first season with the Next Gen car, so drivers needed time to adjust to the cars. Now, the 2023 edition of the Clash at the Coliseum should yield more exciting racing, now that everyone knows the cars’ limitations.
Oct 22, 2022; Homestead, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) during practice for the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
He continued, “I thought that produced good racing, and when you caught somebody that you weren’t quite way faster than. You could use the bumper to get by them, so I thought that produced great racing. There were times when I had a shot to win, I got a little bit too loose, lost the handle of my car towards the end and faded to 5th.”
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So the big question is, can Kyle Larson triumph at the Los Angeles Coliseum? If so, will it set a precedent for the rest of his 2023 Cup Series campaign?