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Kyle Larson had a unbelievable rookie season while coming close to victory lane. Last time a rookie was that good , it was probably either back in 2005 (Kyle Busch) or 2006 (Denny Hamlin). His best tracks were the Intermediate and flats race venues. Plate tracks were his weakness unfortunately. Kind felt the lack of NNS experience hurted him in this area. Even though 50% of the battle is luck.
At Intermediate tracks in 2014 , Larson was at his best. His best tracks were Chicago , Texas and Atlanta. All three tracks are wore-out surfaces. Both Texas races ,Larson was impressive at. He was better in the spring and finish 5th. Chicago he was stellar once again. Started 10th and finished 3rd. Posted a 110.1 driver rating. At Atlanta , Larson started 3rd and finished 8th. Didn't have a great car , but good enough. I feel like Atlanta fits Larson driving style. Definitely a place where he could find more success in the immediately future.
I was quite surprised by how well Larson did on flats in 2014. In 7 races , Larson had an 8.7 average finish. His best track was New Hampshire. Had finishes of 2nd and 3rd. Didn't have a winning type car either time. Posted 99.1 driver rating in both races. Which suggests he had an top 10 caliber car both times.
At Pocono , the tricky triangle was no match for young Kyle Larson. Larson posted resulted of 11th and 5th. In fact he also started on the pole in the August race. In those two races , Larson had 95.7 driver rating and led 7 laps. I personally didn't see that coming. If you did , please tell me tonight winning lottery numbers.
Indianapolis was another good track in 2014 for Larson. In that race Larson started 15th. While leading 15 laps and finished 7th. Had 104.4 driver rating. He definitely didn't luck into a solid finish. I feel like Larson have a knack for larger flats tracks.
On short tracks Larson was better then I expected. I was impressed by his performance at Bristol. Arguably his best race was at the spring race where he ran top 5 for good portion of the race. Until a late caution caused Larson to lose his track position. The fall race Larson started 40th and finished 12th. Was never super competitive in that event unfortunately. Had a teen type car mainly.
At Richmond Larson been pretty decent. Had finishes of 11th and 16th in two races in 2014. From a pure performance standpoint those were one of his worst races. Was never nothing more then top 15 driver. He need to improve at Richmond in 2015. Martinsville can be considered one of Larson worst tracks. In 3 career races , Larson best finish is 27th. 2 of 3 races have ended in DNFs.
On road courses Larson at a young age have showed great promise on road courses. That is very impressive. Most drivers get better with more experience. At Sonoma Larson had top 10 car before having mechanical issues. At Watkins Glenn , Larson struggled all weekend long. But in the end raced his way into an top 5 finish.
I would avoid Larson at Daytona and Talladega until he proves he an legit plate racer. So far in his career , Larson have finishes of 9,17,36 and 38. Talladega was the kinder track though. Had an 13.0 average finishes in 2 races. At Daytona , Larson best finish was 36th. Altogether Larson had 25.0 average finish in 4 races.
I said once and I will say it again. Larson will not win once but least twice. There my bold prediction for the 2015 season. I am very high on Kyle Larson for upcoming season. His best days will come on the worn out surfaces. Something about them he loves. New Hampshire , Texas , Atlanta , Chicago and among other fits that category. Intermediate and flats will be the places that Larson likely wins on. Also believe Bristol and the pair of road courses will good as well.
Twitter - @JeffNathans