NASCAR’s very own dirt devil would prefer to keep the one dirt-track race currently on the schedule as a unique special occasion.
Larson is well aware that Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart has been lobbying to bring a NASCAR Xfinity Series race—perhaps even a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event—to the half-mile dirt facility, which on Wednesday hosted the Dirt Derby for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Larson, however, believes the Cup series belongs on asphalt.
“Tony is probably going to get mad, but I would like to see it just stay as it is,” said Larson, who served as a guest analyst on FS1 for Wednesday’s races. “If anything, Xfinity, maybe, but I wouldn’t like to see Cup on dirt.
“I don’t know, to me, Cup belongs on pavement and real road course tracks, but, yeah, I don’t know. If we went to Eldora, yeah, I mean I would be excited because I would be really fast, and I feel like I would definitely have the best shot to win. But at the same time, I don’t know, I think we are fine not going there.”
Larson, who races midgets and sprint cars on dirt every chance he gets, is foremost among Chevrolet drivers in the Cup series. He’s currently eighth in the standings but has yet to win a race this season.
Larson has had uneven results at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but he expects to perform well in Sunday’s Foxwoods 301 at the Magic Mile (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
“I’ve had some good runs here, for sure—top fives and stuff and won a K&N race, but we are either really good or really bad,” said Larson who was second fastest behind Kyle Busch in Friday’s opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice. “I think we’ll be OK this weekend.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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