What Prompted Kyle Larson to Race at Tampa Before the Daytona 500?

Kyle Larson is savoring every second that he gets to spend behind the wheel of a race car. Following a busy offseason filled with sprint car races, the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver took his skills to Tampa for the High Limit National Series opener ahead of the 2024 Daytona 500. “The Battle at the Bay” was held at the East Bay Raceway Park on February 12 and 13 (Monday & Tuesday).

Originally scheduled only for Monday, the second feature had to be pushed forward a day courtesy of Mother Nature. Larson and Tyler Courtney won each of the two features. While Larson’s victory does not come as a big surprise considering his past and current prowess in dirt tracks, his choice not to give himself a breather so close to the Daytona 500 certainly does.

However, Larson reasons, “If you can figure out how to drive these and be comfortable in them [Sprint Cars], then it helps everything else slow down for you.” This is an opinion that Larson has already expressed before in discussions about his dirt racing career. From the perspective of the former Cup Series champion, the races including the latest are highly beneficial practice runs for the bigger payday events in NASCAR and beyond.

Considering the limited practice sessions that races like the Daytona 500 have, his take makes all the more sense. But his sprint car schedule or the High Limit Racing Series has other purposes than just being practice.

Larson’s undying affinity for sprint car racing and the uselessness of the Daytona 500 practice

Though “The Battle at the Bay” serves as a warm-up run for the Daytona 500, Larson’s participation stems from his love for the dirt track. He says that things at the East Bay Raceway Park are much more laid back than his usual race days and terms racing there “pure”. With the busy schedule that he has packed for himself, he could certainly use some laid-backness before things turn blurry at Daytona.

The upcoming Cup Series opener will be his 11th start in the Daytona 500 and he heads into it as one of the few active champions to never win the prestigious race. Frustration has already begun for Larson with him calling the menial practice run on Friday a waste of 50 minutes of his life. More discomfort could follow with dark clouds engulfing the coast. The Xfinity Series opener has already been pushed to Monday and the Daytona 500 could follow suit.

Share this article

• Kyle Larson