CONCORD, N.C. -- Last Sunday at Kansas Speedway didn’t go as planned for Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, but the Hendrick Motorsports teammates are ready to get back behind the wheel and take on Darlington Raceway.
The duo will have a little fun and show off their throwback schemes before taking on “The Lady in Black” but it will be all business once the drivers start their engines.
“I love Darlington,” Larson said. “It’s been a great track for me in the past. We have a really good package for worn-out tracks like that, so I hope that we are really good there. I think, grip-level wise, it’s pretty similar to Atlanta, and we were really good there this year in the No. 5. You just have to take care of your stuff and not get into the wall.”
In the three races at Darlington last season, Bowman was out front for two of those events. He posted a runner-up result in May and finished sixth at the playoff race at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”
“I think we can be really strong,” Bowman said. “We were really fast there last year. Obviously, the rules package is changing, so last year’s notes are probably going out the window a little bit, but I’m excited to get back to having a bunch of horsepower there and a lot of tire fall off. It’s going to be fun to slip and slide around. It’s one of my favorite racetracks and I’m excited to get there.”
In his last four starts at Darlington Raceway, Larson has posted three top-five finishes, including a runner-up result in 2019. Even though the worn-down surface makes the track unique and brings different racing strategies to the table, Larson feels confident that he can handle the track. He added that drivers need to be more in tune than ever with their cars due to the rough surface.
“It’s really easy to overdrive and make a mistake and ruin your day,” Larson said. “Hopefully, our car is good enough and I don’t have to rely on running the top, which has been the strong suit for me there in the past. I could run a unique line that was much safer and all that. (I’m) getting excited about this upcoming race.”
The throwback race at Darlington will be Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.