Kyle Larson is calm and collected for his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut

Friday Charlotte Notebook

Kyle Larson is calm and collected for his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut

Oct. 11, 2013

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C.—Nerves? What nerves?

If Kyle Larson is feeling a case of the butterflies before his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut, he’s not showing it.

The widely heralded open-wheel phenom will drive Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet—prepared by his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team—in Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But Larson, 21, is maintaining an even strain throughout his first experience at the highest level of stock car racing. He didn’t even develop a case of nerves before his first qualifying run in a Cup car on Thursday night.

Larson, who races fulltime in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, claimed the 21st starting position, a creditable performance for his first time in the heat of Sprint Cup competition.

“I wasn’t as nervous as I normally get, even for Nationwide qualifying,” Larson told the NASCAR Wire Service over lunch at Charlotte. “I don’t know why. I was pretty relaxed, maybe too relaxed—that’s why I qualified 21st. (Actually), I’m not disappointed in that at all. I was actually kind of happy with that.”

Before the 90-minute practice session that preceded qualifying, Larson let himself enjoy the magnitude of the moment, but that was it.

“We were rolling through the garage to go out for the practice session,” he said. “I thought about it a little bit. I thought that was a pretty cool feeling.”

Will the stress level be higher when Larson takes the green flag on Saturday?

“I don’t think so,” Larson said. “I usually have less butterflies for the race than I do qualifying normally, and I didn’t have any (Thursday) during qualifying, so hopefully I’m extra relaxed.”

KENSETH JOINS FIGHT AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leader Matt Kenseth recently directed a $25,000 gift from the Citizen Watch Company (whom Kenseth represents as a brand ambassador) to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

“Citizen wanted to make a significant donation to a charity of our choice, so we decided to help the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center,” Kenseth said. “Our family knows first-hand the terrible effects of Alzheimer's.

“Hopefully, through donations such as these we can fund research dedicated to furthering our understanding of this disease and working toward a cure.”

Kenseth, who holds a three-point lead over Jimmie Johnson in the Chase standings, posted the eighth fastest time in Friday’s first practice session. Johnson was 10th on the speed chart.

Johnson, however, recorded the best 10-lap average (185.714 mph), with Kyle Busch running the fastest single lap in the session (189.447 mph).

DARLINGTON, KANSAS SWAP CUP DATES IN 2014

After nine years of hosting the Mother’s Day weekend NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Darlington will hold its 2014 event, the Bojangles’ Southern 500 a month earlier, on April 12, track officials announced Friday.

Simultaneously, Kansas Speedway announced it will hold its spring race on the Mother’s Day weekend date vacated by Darlington. Both races are scheduled for Saturday nights.

The Nationwide Series also will compete at Darlington during the April weekend, on Friday, Apr. 11. Kansas will host the Camping World Truck Series on Friday night, May 9.