HOMESTEAD, Fla. — There once was a time when Kyle Larson didn’t run as closely to the wall at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Then Kyle Busch shot him a finger.
No, not that finger.
Busch pointed with his index finger for Larson to run higher on the track as they ran together in the 2013 Xfinity race at this 1.5-mile speedway.
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Larson got the hint and learned the lesson, becoming one of the dominant drivers at this track. While many run near the fence, few are as fast as Larson, the defending race winner, and Tyler Reddick.
Larson, who secured a spot in championship race with his victory last week at Las Vegas, looks back to the urging from Busch as helping him master running inches from the wall at Homestead.
“There were points in the corner where I’d get really close to the wall and once you do that a few times, you can feel the effect that the right side of the car has against the wall,” Larson said Saturday.
“So then over time, you start pushing it – entering higher and you start getting to the wall at an earlier point in the corner and eventually you just end up running up next to the wall the whole lap.”
Reddick won two Xfinity championships by riding the high line to race victories in 2018 and ’19 at this track. That Larson, who starts fifth, and Reddick, who starts third, both come from dirt backgrounds is not a coincidence.
“I definitely think coming from the background that we have, it definitely helps,” Larson said. “I think Homestead, to me, it reminds me a lot of Eldora (Speedway) – the way both ends are … the way you kind of cup into Turn 1. (Turns) 3 and 4 seem a little flatter and all that, but you still run against the wall.
“It just feels similar to me. And then, also the feel that you get of packing the air against the wall, kind of feels like running a soft cushion at a dirt track.
“I think that’s why dirt guys kind of excel here. I can’t think of any pavement-background driver that is really comfortable against the wall. Maybe (Martin) Truex Jr., he’s really good. Denny (Hamlin) is good on occasion running the wall. But yeah, Reddick and myself, we seem to be really good at running the wall here.”
Hamlin said the difference between he and Larson is how Larson races.
“I think I’m better than average, but not at the level that Kyle (Larson) and those guys are,” Hamlin said of running the wall. “They’re willing to take (more of) a level of risk than I am. It depends on the scenario as well. When you’re going down to the end of the race and need some spots, you’re willing to push it a little bit more. I just manage risk a little differently.”
That’s what the rest of the field will have to judge Sunday, particularly the playoff drivers.
Larson is the only driver who has secured a spot in the Nov. 5 championship race in Phoenix. Those in a transfer spot are William Byron, Truex and Hamlin. Those below the cutline are Christopher Bell (-2 points), Reddick (-16), Ryan Blaney (-17) and Chris Buescher (-23).
Bell is the only driver left who was in last year’s championship race at Phoenix.
“I know if I want to make (Phoenix), I’m going to have to basically win at Martinsville (or Homestead),” said Bell, who was second last week at Las Vegas. “We’re going to have to duplicate what we did at Las Vegas at Homestead and we’re going to have to duplicate it again at Martinsville if we want to make Phoenix.
“Frankly, if I’m a championship driver and we’re a championship team, we need to be doing that anyway.”
