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Kyle Larson<\/a> and Hendrick Motorsports<\/a> head for Gateway this weekend believing their performance will be crucial in assessing their 2025 NASCAR<\/a> title hopes.
<\/p>\n \nThe 2021 Cup Series champion had a disappointing start to playoff season last weekend, when he finished 19th behind Chase Briscoe at Darlington<\/a>.
<\/p>\n \nThat was not the start the Elk Grove, California native wanted for his postseason campaign, but he believes this Sunday in Illinois will be an even better barometer of his prospects for title glory.
<\/p>\n \nLarson\u2019s rationale is that Gateway will tell Hendrick exactly where they are when it comes to their hopes for this year\u2019s Championship race at Phoenix on November 2. As close as it gets to a dress rehearsal.
<\/p>\n \nThere is trepidation in the Hendrick ranks, too, as they gear up for a huge weekend – Larson believes the team\u2019s recent showings in Phoenix were just not good enough to challenge the best. Notably, big rivals Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing.
<\/p>\n \nREAD MORE: Michael Jordan’s GOAT response to NASCAR playoff agony for 23XI Racing team<\/a>
<\/p>\n Gateway a barometer for Phoenix<\/p>\n \nLarson revealed that based on their recent performances at Phoenix, Hendrick Motorsports knew they had ‘no shot’ at winning this year’s title, and so have since gone about re-working their short track package.
<\/p>\n \nLarson told FOX Sports<\/a>: “We\u2019ve been really bad at Gateway but a little bit better at Phoenix.
<\/p>\n \n“If we can be good at Gateway in the same ballpark as [Penske and Gibbs], that would give us some confidence going to Phoenix.
<\/p>\n \n“Based off how we ran at Phoenix at the end of last year, and then in the spring this year, we knew we had no shot to win the championship with the setup that we had. We had to go to work, and we’ve still been continuing to work on it.”
<\/p>\n \nLarson remains in a comfortable position in the playoff standings despite his \u2018average\u2019 night in Darlington – he is currently third and 26 points above the cutline<\/a>. The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet also believes there were multiple reasons for the subpar showing.
<\/p>\n Gateway test inspired short-track change<\/p>\n \nLooking for a new direction to head in with their short-track package and setup, Larson revealed that a test at Gateway earlier this year led the team down a path they hope will be more fruitful.
<\/p>\n \n“We had a great test at Gateway earlier this year, and that’s kind of led us down a different path with our short-track package here lately, and it seems to be better,” he explained.
<\/p>\n \n“I would say we’re still not anywhere close to Penske, and we’ve gotten closer to Gibbs, but we’ve gotten better, which is a plus.
<\/p>\n \n“We still have a few more short tracks to go to kind of fine-tune our package and hopefully hit where we need to at Phoenix.”
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