Conquering Martinsville was a pipe dream for Kyle Larson. His win brought him to tears
There were many years, Kyle Larson admitted late on Sunday, that he wished Martinsville Speedway would flood into oblivion.
Or maybe burn down.
Or simply disappear.
“I’ve left here just mad,” Larson said with a chuckle. “I hated this place. I’ve wished it would flood. I’ve wished a lot of bad things on this place.”
The driver then pointed to a picture hanging on a wall in the Martinsville media center — one that showed the oldest track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in its original form as a dirt track.
“I’ve wished it was like that, maybe dirt,” Larson, one of the all-time great dirt drivers, continued. “I think just because it’s such a tough track.”
Larson described his previous feelings of hatred toward the 0.526-mile short-track to explain the joy he felt on Sunday night: The driver of the No. 5 car commanded the final 50 laps of the ninth points race of the 2023 Cup Series season to sail to a four-second win.
The clock, the trophy the racetrack gives to all its victors, is all his now.
And the Kryptonite — the racetrack that has so long been a strange weakness for a driver that doesn’t really have any weaknesses — is now conquered.
“When you can win at a place like this, it is definitely up there,” said Larson, who has now won twice in 2023, tied for most in the Cup Series thus far. “I was teared up the whole last lap. I heard Cliff (Daniels) was teared up too. So that feels really, really special because he is so strong and, like, emotionally strong. To hear that means a lot.
“This win here today means a lot for everybody and, too, Hendrick Motorsports as well with everything that this kind of racetrack and trip means to them.”
This was the first time the No. 5 car has made a trip down Victory Lane at Martinsville since Geoff Bodine did so in 1984. That race was also the first win the organization notched in its storied history.
The Hendrick Motorsports officials who were there to celebrate Larson’s win — crew chief Cliff Daniels and HMS president Jeff Andrews among them — knew all the struggles Larson has had at Martinsville.
They also know how much pressure Larson has put on himself to get better here. (A good run in Martinsville’s October race, after all, can mean a ticket to the Championship 4.)
“I think just the fact that all the conversations he and I have had here, he has had so much doubt in himself, but we’ve continued to stay true to our process, how we prepare, the data we look at, everything that we study,” Daniels said.
“He has been very open to any adjustments he has needed to make on his end. ... The work in preparation to get here today is what I’m most proud of because you saw at the end of the race — when our car was good and he knew he had a shot — he did a great job to go through some of those guys, get to Joey (Logano), have a clean race for the win.”
Andrews echoed Daniels’ sentiment.
“I think the thing for me is just how Cliff and Kyle really put the whole day together,” Andrews said. “Certainly various phases of that race and track change with clouds and sun and then an untimely caution there certainly threw a twist in everyone’s strategy.
“Really just from start to finish (impressed me), how they work together on the radio and continue to make the car better really all day long.”
Larson said he felt good about his day immediately on Sunday. He started 19th and quickly rose to 10th without much struggle. I’m going to run up front all day, he figured.
Then, an all-too-familiar feeling dawned on him.
“Then the next run, I was really bad,” Larson said. “Next couple of runs, I was really bad. Then I was, like, not really pouty — I was trying to stay positive. But I was, like, okay, it’s just typical Martinsville. I’m tight in the center, loose off like always, and I suck, and it’s probably me. The car is fine. It’s just me.”
But then the race fell into place: A few strategy calls panned out for him and his team. And then, with 50 laps to go on a caution, Larson’s crew chose to take two tires while much of the rest of the field took four.
The move launched him into winning contention — much like the same move did at Martinsville in its 2022 October race, where he finished second behind Christopher Bell — and he took over from there.
“Then I was battling Joey (Logano) for the lead and knew it was going to be tough,” he said. “Knew he’s very hard to pass at a place like this. And once you do get by him, he’s not done. So I knew I was going to get a shot in the back from him. Thankfully my car just had a lot more grip than his did at the time.”
Larson added with a smile: “I was pretty positive, though, today, this weekend. Better than normal.”
Coming into Sunday, Larson would’ve been fine if he learned he never had to race at Martinsville again. He worked to get better here nonetheless — reluctantly volunteering to do various tests at Martinsville whenever he could; poring over data; learning that you make your time on entry and not on your exits; relying on his No. 5 team and Hendrick Motorsports teammates (who have had success here in the past).
The 2021 Cup Series champion has transcendent talent. But his win at Martinsville required grit and years of work.
It resulted in a unique fulfillment, he said.
“I think that’s the reason why this win is probably my top seven or so or shorter list than that of wins because I’ve worked really hard for it,” Larson said. “Even with the work, I still didn’t think that I would ever win here. ... I mean, I would run hundreds of laps and then still come here and be 20th or worse.
“So, yeah, putting in the work and continuing to put in the work and not giving up on it and then winning, it makes it feel really special.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
