Kyle Larson has won the last four races that he’s driven, scoring three sprint car victories and a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
Can the Cup points leader keep the streak alive Sunday at Sonoma Raceway?
“We definitely have some really good momentum going for me in all different types of motorsports right now,’’ Larson said Friday at his home track. “It’s been a lot of fun the last week or so, winning a lot of races in different cars.
“I always enjoy coming to Sonoma and hanging out in Napa Valley with some friends and coming to do road course racing is always fun, too. I feel like I’ve gotten better at it over the last couple of years.’’
His record at Sonoma isn’t overwhelming. His best finish in three starts is last year’s 12th-place result, but he feels he’s gotten better and hasn’t had the finish to mirror the run he’s had.
He also feels his sprint car experience helps on this type of track.
“I’m always pretty confident when I go to here or Watkins Glen,’’ Larson said. “I feel like these places feel most similar to a sprint car than our typical ovals do. I feel like I can feel the car better at these places.’’
How so?
“On the ovals, we have the no ride height rules, so they are just stuck to the race track and they are pretty ridged and don’t move around a whole lot, where sprint cars kind of flex around and you can feel the suspension a lot more,’’ said Larson, who has three consecutive top-10 finishes in Cup entering this weekend.
“You can look at all the pictures and stuff of the stock cars going around here, I mean the front ends are flying in the air and there is a lot of movement. Like you can feel the grip better, so I think that is why it kind of … I feel more comfortable I guess. I don’t want to say I’m more comfortable coming to a road course than an oval, but I feel like I can understand and feel the car better when I come here.”