After a rare weekend outside of a race car, Kyle Larson returns to raring to go.
The spent the first of only two off weeks in a 36-race schedule on a family vacation in his native California. While he enjoyed watching his kids race, the Hendrick Motorsports star away from on dirt tracks was ready for the break to end.
鈥淚 wish I could get more of it, but at the same time, I just want to race to get better,鈥� said Larson, who is mired in a 31-race victory drought dating to last May. 鈥淵ou take a week off, and it鈥檚 like, 鈥楳an, I just want to keep going.鈥�”
He expects the rest of the field to be as eager to climb behind the wheel Sunday in Bristol, Tennessee 鈥� just as he said his rivals have been this year, that penalizes aggression.
For the first time in more than a decade, cumulative points totals will determine the 16-driver Chase field that will compete for the title, and the driver who scores the most points in the final 10 races will be crowned champion.
It鈥檚 a departure that put a bigger reward on high-risk maneuvers because a win would qualify for the playoffs.
Yet if drivers have raced conservatively this year, Larson said he hasn鈥檛 noticed.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 just as aggressive as it鈥檚 been,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t most racetracks, it鈥檚 wild. With this car, you can get into people. So I didn鈥檛 expect it to change a whole lot, but maybe it will as we get into The Chase.鈥�
Brad Keselowski has been surprised by what he perceives as a lack of adaptation to The Chase.
鈥淚鈥檓 actually quite shocked we haven鈥檛 seen more of a different style,鈥� said Keselowski, under a previous Chase format. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 really clicking yet for a good part of the field who just never grew up racing in a system like this. They鈥檙e going to have to adapt or be replaced. Sometimes you have to feel the pain first.鈥�
Sunday鈥檚 500-lap race at Bristol, a track known for its rough-and-tumble racing, could provide a good indicator of whether drivers are choosing discretion 鈥� and one statistical category indicates some might be this season.
There have been 42 yellow flags through seven races 鈥� the fewest cautions at this point in the season since 2018.
Josh Berry said his mindset has been different.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a higher penalty for wrecking out,鈥� the Wood Brothers Racing driver said. 鈥淪ubconsciously, there probably is more give and take because there should be. Your finishes are going to determine whether you make The Chase or not and have a chance to win the championship.鈥�
For Larson, though, the primary goal remains winning at a track where he has dominated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of wild to think that it鈥檚 almost been a year since I鈥檝e won,鈥� said Larson, who led 873 of 1,000 laps . 鈥淲e鈥檙e working as hard as ever. It鈥檚 just gotten really tough for whatever reason. This series is tough. A lot of times we鈥檝e made winning maybe look easy, but it鈥檚 not.鈥�
Bowman鈥檚 back
Alex Bowman thought his NASCAR career was over after being sidelined by a bout of vertigo. while rehabbing with multiple doctors, the Hendrick Motorsports driver without a relief driver on standby.
Bowman, who suffered , concedes that Bristol is 鈥減robably the worst place possible to come back.鈥� The high-banked 0.533-mile oval has a teeth-rattling concrete surface, and racing at 130 mph inside its tight confines has been compared to flying a fighter jet in a gymnasium.
But it鈥檚 a strong track for Bowman, who started on the pole for two of the past three races at Bristol and has three top-five finishes there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a track that is extremely difficult,” he said. “I鈥檓 trying to get back up to speed. I think expectations probably change a little bit this week. If we could get out of here with a top 10, top 15, I鈥檇 be happy.鈥�
Bowman feels 鈥渟uper confident鈥� after testing without dizziness this week at a high-performance road course. He is eager for another comeback after missing two races with a concussion in 2022 and three races with a back injury from a sprint car crash in 2023.
鈥淚鈥檝e put (the team) in a tough spot multiple times, so they鈥檝e probably given me more grace at times than I deserve,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o super thankful for that and just ready to get back rolling.鈥�
No phone zone
Trackhouse Racing driver Connor Zilisch hung out this week at the Masters, and the 19-year-old rookie was impressed by the Augusta National ban on cellphones.
鈥淎s a kid, it kind of felt weird every time I went to go take a picture, and I鈥檇 reach for my pocket, there was nothing there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was awesome not having your phone. Every sporting event nowadays, you look at every big moment, and everybody鈥檚 always filming it with their phones or trying to take pictures. And to have so many people there that were just engaged in the event, it definitely made it different and unique.鈥�
Odds and ends
Kyle Larson (+375), who has led 1,762 laps in 19 starts at Bristol, is favored by BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by four-time Bristol winner Denny Hamlin (+550), Ryan Blaney (+650) and Christopher Bell (+650), who won Friday night鈥檚 truck race. 鈥� Bristol is known for spawning yellow flags, but the last time that the Cup Series went into overtime at the track because of a late caution was in April 2015, an 18-race stretch.
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