After his playoff heartbreak last season, Kyle Larson looks like he might be returning with a vengeance in 2018.
Kyle Larson was fast just about everywhere during the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. It only makes sense that he’d come out of the gates fast this year.
Larson led the way during a test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday that featured 13 Cup Series drivers as well as a few from the other top NASCAR series. Though there were actually two sessions on the day, NASCAR.com reports that Larson’s speed of 188.403 mph held up even though it was recorded in the earlier of the two.
Cup Series Rookie of the Year contender William Byron was fastest in the later session and second overall at 188.298, while Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch were the only other drivers to crack 187 mph.
Larson was already plenty quick at LVMS last season, when he finished second to Martin Truex Jr. in the Kobalt 400. The Cup Series will visit the track twice this season for the first time, including once in the NASCAR Playoffs.
The 25-year-old driver noted that he has remained busy during the offseason but was happy to get back to his “day job,” as it were.
"“It’s nice to get back in a stock car. I’ve still done a fair bit of racing this offseason. But it’s been a couple of months since I’ve been in a (stock) car. It was nice to get some laps here and feel like we’ve got some pretty good speed and good balance with our new Camaro ZL1.”"
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Whether the Camaro gives top Chevy drivers like Larson a boost will be something NASCAR fans and observers will be watching intently over the next few months. It’s not like the 42 team needed much help anyway, but if Larson can turn some of his second-place finishes into more wins in 2018, look out.
The Las Vegas test continues on Wednesday.