Former Dodgers great Eric Karros Ganassi driver Larson talks Bill Haselman, Cody Bellinger setting NASCAR pace
It took a little patience, but Kyle Larson has lifted decorated car owner Chip Ganassi back to the top of the stock car racing world.
Larson, 24, enters the Auto Club 400 Sunday in Fontana, Calif., as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader through four races after a third consecutive runner-up finish last week at Phoenix. It’s the first time a Ganassi-affiliated driver has held that spot since 2010, when Jamie McMurray won the season-opening Daytona 500. The early success is taking even Larson by surprise.
“I didn’t think I’d be the points leader this early in the season,” Larson said. “It’s a really cool feeling and makes me really proud of all the hard work that everyone’s put in at the race shop. They’re the biggest part of why we’re as fast as we are right now.”
The points lead represents a big step into the spotlight for Larson, who got his first win and playoff berth in 2016 before finishing ninth in the final standings. That campaign followed a bit of a sophomore slump in which he dropped to 19th in the standings in 2015 after he finished 17th and won rookie-of-the-year honors in 2014.
More raw speed helps a lot.
“When your race cars are good like we are right now, it’s easier to have a mistake-free race,” Larson said.
Ganassi said a combination of personnel additions and good work on the technical end has helped the team translate speed from late last season into the beginning of this one. But the car owner believes his driver deserves a lot of credit, too.
“Of all the guys who are young and learning, he’s my pick,” Ganassi said. “He was my pick five or six years ago and he’s still my pick today for a young up-and-comer. I think he has the right attitude and the right capabilities.”
Bolstering Larson’s start in the standings has been NASCAR’s new stage racing format, which awards points to drivers running in the top 10 at two mileposts mid-race before the bulk of them are decided at the finish. Larson, along with Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski, is one of just two drivers who has earned points in every stage so far.
Ganassi believes it’s a format Larson is wellsuited for as a former racer at dirt tracks, where quick “heat” races are common. Where the long runs of 400 and 500mile races were part of Larson’s learning curve before, now he has an edge as someone with a background in making shorter runs for points in the context of a longer race.
The only thing that’s been missing so far is a victory, though Larson has been close every week. At Phoenix, late contact between his car and that of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on a late-race restart cost him a chance to run down Ryan Newman, who was slower than Larson with older tires. Larson’s only finish outside the top two came at the Daytona 500, where he took the white flag as the leader only to run out of gas on the final lap and finish 12th.
Larson isn’t pressing for that victory, though. After waiting almost three full seasons for his first one, he’s confident the wins — and maybe more — will come.
“I definitely think a championship is realistic,” Larson said. “Especially in the playoffs we have a lot of really good race tracks for our organization.”
Former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros recently spent a few weeks at Dodgers’ spring training as a guest instructor.
He worked with young players. He talked with his former UCLA teammate, Oklahoma City Dodgers manager Bill Haselman. More importantly, he walked away impressed with the future.
On Saturday, Karros was at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark signing autographs and answering questions for fans at the third annual Dodgers Fan Fest. The Fox Sports baseball analyst and former Rookie of the Year took some time to speak with
and other media about the Dodgers’ system and more.
A: “No. I know I could sit here and say I saw that, but no chance. I never thought in a million years that he would be a coach or a manager, not because he wasn’t capable. I probably didn’t know what a coach or manager would look like anyhow at that age.
“But what I will say is his demeanor with people is as good as anybody. He commands respect, he gives respect. He treats everybody as human beings, he’s very professional. I think one thing too that really benefits him is he played 10 years in the big leagues and it wasn’t at the star level. He had to work, he backed up some Hall of Fame catchers and I think he has a broad understanding of what it’s like to play in the big leagues and go through all of the ups and downs.
“He should be in the big leagues. Let’s say that.”
“For me, obviously the physical skills are there but the maturity for a young guy as good as anybody. We’re at games and we’re in the seventh inning and guys that have already played can go on in. He stays out for the entire game, which is not typical of any player for that matter. So it shows that again it’s more than just, ‘How am I going to get to the big leagues.’ It’s about being a good teammate; it’s about being a responsible guy.”
“All three of those guys are interesting in their own right. They’re not the same player. For me, being down there in spring training for those couple of weeks, Oklahoma City is going to be loaded. I mean loaded. There are guys that are going to be here that should be playing in the big leagues for other teams.
“I kid with Billy Haselman that his biggest dilemma is keeping everybody happy and finding playing time for all of three guys.
“It’s the good and bad. If I’m a fan of the Dodgers, if I’m a fan of Oklahoma City, if I’m a fan of any that I love it because the team is so deep, the organization is so deep. If I’m a player in the organization I’m looking around going, ‘Geez, how am I going to make it?’ The competition breeds competition, but you also want to be out there and you want to prove you can play. The Dodgers’ organization right now is as deep as I’ve ever seen it.”