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Kyle Larson’s weekend gets worse at Kansas Speedway: backup car

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Kyle Larson has had a week to forget at Kansas, and his crash in practice didn't help at all.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A must-win situation for Kyle Larson got even tougher Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver slammed the Turn 2 wall during the opening Cup practice for Sunday’s cutoff race at the 1.5-mile oval, sustaining enough damage on the No. 42 Chevrolet to require a backup car. Larson said he was OK after a hard impact that he attributed to “really cold temperatures, really fast speeds and trying to get all you can.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Larson told NBCSN’s Dave Burns. “Just mad at myself for making a mistake. Got loose. I don’t know if I got on the splitter, but it didn’t turn and went straight.

“I hated we wrecked the primary car there. I’m sure the backup car will be fine. I’ve been in a backup car before here and went fast. Dig deep, work hard and see where we’ll be Sunday.”

Larson is 36 points below the cut line and 11th in the standings after a 10-point penalty at Talladega Superspeedway for an illegal repair to his damaged car. Only eight of the remaining 12 playoff drivers will advance after Kansas.

Chip Ganassi Racing lost its initial appeal of the penalty Friday morning at the track. Its final appeal will be heard Friday night.

During a media availability before practice, Larson said he viewed Kansas as a win-or-else proposition regardless of his points deficit. He led a race-high 101 laps and finished fourth in the May 12 race with what he believed was the best car

“In our position, we know what we have to do, I can be aggressive and run hard all race long,” he said. “At Chip Ganassi Racing, the mile-and-a-half tracks have been our best tracks. I know we’ll be fast and lead laps, and we just have to capitalize on that and win the race.”