Kyle Larson will start from the pole for the fifth year in a row in Sonoma

Kyle Larson will start from the pole for the fifth year in a row in Sonoma

Web Desk
June 12, 2022

Kyle Larson will start from the pole for the fifth year in a row in Sonoma

Larson, who lapped at 92.11 mph in his Chevrolet, has won four consecutive Sonoma race poles since 2017.
Given the circuit and conditions, the leaders were unsurprising: Larson won on three road courses last season, and Elliott has seven of his 14 career victories on road courses.

Kyle Larson has been unbeatable in qualifying at Sonoma Raceway recently, and he is hoping that his recent domination will carry over to the race.

Larson will start on the pole for the sixth time in a row in the NASCAR Cup Series race at his home track after edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in qualifying on the mountainous road course in wine country on Saturday.

Kyle Larson, who lapped at 92.11 mph in his Chevrolet, has won four consecutive Sonoma race poles since 2017. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there was no race in 2020, and NASCAR did not do qualifying in 2021, but the Sacramento-area native nonetheless started up top behind Elliott according to the alternative formula employed last year.

Last year, Larson profited by winning the race in overtime. This year, the defending Cup Series winner surprised himself by charging to the front of the race on the tough circuit, which requires drivers to rapidly figure out its twists and turns.

“I feel like I could have run quite a bit faster,” Larson said. “On my good lap, I made a pretty big mistake in Turn 4. I was surprised I ran the lap that I did because it was such a big mistake.”

Elliott was a tenth of a second slower than Larson, and Chris Buescher qualified third after missing last week’s race at Gateway due to a positive COVID-19 test. Michael McDowell came in fourth, ahead of Tyler Reddick, while Cole Custer was sixth.

Given the circuit and conditions, the leaders were unsurprising: Larson won on three road courses last season, and Elliott has seven of his 14 career victories on road courses.

After racing with the lengthier Carousel turn in the last two Cup Series races, the Sonoma circuit has returned to the 1.99-mile Chute configuration.

While some drivers showed clear preferences for both layouts during the day, Larson claimed he didn’t mind which layout was used because he felt competent in both.