Getty Kyle Larson will join a new team at Darlington Raceway.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion is going to have a packed weekend in South Carolina on May 13-14. Kyle Larson will join a new team while pulling double duty at Darlington Raceway.
According to an April 26 announcement, Larson will join forces with Kaulig Racing. He will take over the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro, which became the team’s star car prior to the start of the 2023 Xfinity Series season. He will pursue his 14th career win in the series while driving a car that has finished top 10 in eight of the nine Xfinity Series races.
Presenting the driver of our No. 10 Chevy for @TooToughToTame…
Larson will take over a new stock car during NASCAR’s Throwback Weekend. However, he will have a familiar primary partner as he works with Kaulig Racing for the first time. HendrickCars.com will continue to support the California native while showcasing the blue and white scheme that has ended up in Victory Lane several times.
Larson Pursues His First Darlington Win
GettyKyle Larson waves to fans at Darlington Raceway.
Larson has no shortage of success in his NASCAR career. He has 13 Xfinity Series wins, 21 Cup Series wins, and a championship to his name. What he doesn’t have, however, is a trip to Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway.
Larson has made 10 Cup Series starts at the South Carolina track, and he has secured top-10 finishes in seven of these starts. This run includes five top-fives and three consecutive runner-ups between 2019 and 2021. Larson’s Xfinity Series numbers are similar considering that he has top-five finishes in all five of his starts at Darlington Raceway.
DRAMA ON THE FINAL LAP!
@dennyhamlin holds off @KyleLarsonRacin to win! #NASCARPlayoffs
While Larson hasn’t won at Darlington Raceway in either series, he has turned heads with wild moves. In 2021, he tried a “video game move” and slammed into the wall on the final lap in a last-ditch attempt to pass Denny Hamlin. This move did not play out, so he had to settle for second place.
The last time Larson took on Darlington Raceway in the Xfinity Series, he took part in a wild battle with Noah Gragson and Sheldon Creed. The three drivers went back and forth during the final 15 laps of the race, and they delivered an all-time finish.
UNREAL FINISH!
Sheldon Creed and Kyle Larson make contact on the final lap, Creed hits the wall and Noah Gragson WINS at @TooToughToTame! #NASCAR
Larson and Creed were side-by-side on the final lap with Gragson just behind them. They slammed doors multiple times before Creed hit the outside wall. Gragson took advantage by diving to the inside and moving to the front of the pack.
The battle was not over, however, as Creed slammed into the wall with his own video game move and took back the lead while sparks flew from his stock car. It appeared that this gamble would work, especially after Gragson also hit the wall, but the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet crossed the finish line first. Creed settled for second while Larson fell back to fifth.
“Obviously, you want to win at every track you’ve never won at, but I would say one that I feel like I’m capable of winning at but I haven’t is Darlington,” Larson told media members at Talladega Superspeedway ahead of the Geico 500. “It’s one of my best tracks, and I have a lot of second-place finishes there but not a win.”
Only 1 Driver Has Captured a Win in the No. 10 This Season
GettyAJ Allmendinger celebrates a win at Circuit of the Americas.
Kaulig Racing is all about trophy hunting. This is the team’s focus each and every week of the NASCAR season, both in the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series, and it has accomplished this goal 21 times in the Xfinity Series and once in the Cup Series.
Only two drivers have won races for Kaulig Racing in 2023. Rookie Chandler Smith celebrated his first career Xfinity Series win at Richmond Raceway, which kept him locked in a heated battle for Rookie of the Year with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith.
AJ Allmendinger is the only driver to win a race in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro. He started from the pole at Circuit of the Americas, and he led 28 laps before holding off William Byron for the 16th win of his Xfinity Series career.