CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Larson hit a milestone on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Larson made his 300th NASCAR Cup Series start at the race at the 1.54-mile track. The Elk Grove, California, native became the 99th driver to hit this mark.
The 30-year-old made his series debut in 2013 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, driving for HScott Motorsports. He drove for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2014 to 2020 and has been with Hendrick Motorsports since 2021.
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How does the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 feel he has grown behind the wheel?
"I am a little bit more patient of a race car driver, but I am still really aggressive," Larson told HendrickMotorsports.com. "Honestly, I don’t know that I have really changed a lot. I am probably just smarter about the decisions I make. I feel like I still do a lot of the same things I used to but just pick and choose my moves a little bit more wisely now. 300 starts is a lot to have."
Coming into his 300th start, Larson ranks tied for 43rd with Davey Allison, Buddy Baker, Greg Biffle and Fonty Flock with 19 Cup Series wins. He has 91 top-five finishes, 148 top-10s and 15 pole positions in the sport’s top series. While at Hendrick Motorsports, he has won 13 races (fourth-most in team history) and scored the 2021 Cup Series championship with the No. 5 team and crew chief Cliff Daniels.
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This season, Larson is off to a solid start. His best finish to date was a runner-up result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which came in a race that saw the organization sweep the top-three spots in the running order. Larson followed that up with a race-high 201 laps led last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway en route to a fourth-place finish.
Seven drivers won in their 300th start in the sport's top series, according to Racing Insights. Ned Jarrett (1965, Fairgrounds Raceway in Birmingham, Alabama), Rusty Wallace (1993 at Atlanta), Kasey Kahne (2012 at Charlotte Motor Speedway while with Hendrick Motorsports), Kyle Busch (2013 at Texas Motor Speedway), Denny Hamlin (2014 at Talladega Superspeedway), Joey Logano (2017 at Richmond Raceway) and Brad Keselowski (2017 at Talladega Superspeedway).