Beyond the Chase, Larson getting noticed

LET'S ENJOY a few Chase-free moments and focus on a non-Chaser who is performing in championship style. All Kyle Larson has done in the first four Chase races is finish second twice, third and sixth. Non-Chasers have to do something exceptional to get noticed during the Chase, and that's exactly what Larson is doing.

The rookie from California has eight top-five finishes this year in the No. 42 Chevrolet. Heading into Richmond last month for the final race before the 16-driver Chase began, Larson was hovering around 12th or 13th place. His 11th-place finish at Richmond dropped him 16 points behind Greg Biffle, the final Chase qualifier.

If Larson were a Chaser, he'd be second in points. He's so smooth on racetracks. With excellent car control, he rarely gets in trouble during races.

"I definitely feel like I've been running a lot better than what I thought I would to start the season, but I thought I would make the Chase, too," Larson said after his second-place finish Sunday at Kansas. "A little bit disappointed there, but I've been finishing better than I thought I would have, so happy about that.

"I think midpoint through the season, I noticed I was running better than what our goals were and raised those goals into top-10s. And now the way we've been running, we want to be top five every week."

For the rest of the season Larson, 22, is focusing on collecting his first Sprint Cup series win.

"I don't add any pressure on myself," he said on a conference call yesterday. "I really don't even pay attention to any pressure, so I think that's a really good quality as a race car driver to kind of put that in the back of your head.

"I'll be really relieved whenever that first win does come. I hope it comes sooner rather than later. But I definitely feel like we're capable of winning a race or two before the end of the year, and just getting that first one out of the way will be awesome."

Larson has received compliments from Jeff Gordon and other veteran drivers. After the Kansas race, third-place finisher Kyle Busch congratulated Larson.

"He just said, good job, and he said the wins are coming," Larson recalled. "I just have to stay patient and keep doing a good job, and hopefully those wins will come.

"As far as help with driving and I guess really anything, I kind of lean on my teammate McMurray the most for all that stuff. I'm not the type to ask for advice or walk through the garage and ask other drivers for advice."

Larson, whose mother is Japanese-American, is a product of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.

"The Drive for Diversity program was good because it helped me get into the K&N East Series and get on racetracks that I'd got to run last year in Nationwide," he said. "I was already with Chip Ganassi Racing before I got with the Diversity program, so really that just helped me gain experience on the racetrack. The Diversity program gets a lot of recognition, and we would go do sponsor appearances and things like that, and I was also part of the NASCAR Next program that year. I'd say it helped out a lot with the off-track stuff more than anything."

Larson is one of several talented young racers in NASCAR's top three series. Larson and Austin Dillon, another Cup rookie, are leading the way for the younger generation. When Larson's contract expires, Ganassi might have trouble fighting off such NASCAR heavyweights as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing for his services.

Richard Petty Motorsports announced yesterday that Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 9 Ford next year, replacing Marcos Ambrose, who is returning to his native Australia. Hornish, 35, is an Indianapolis 500 winner and a former IndyCar series champion.

"I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to join a team like Richard Petty Motorsports," Hornish said. "It really means a lot to me. my racing career, I've been very blessed to work with some icons. To have the opportunity to work for the King now after I had a part-time job working for the Coach and then the Captain in the past, I feel really good about this opportunity to join the No. 9 team and work with Drew Blickensderfer, and also with Aric and the 43 team. There's a lot of momentum in this organization."

Almirola qualified for the Chase.

Hornish has struggled in his transition from open-wheel racing to stock cars.

"I feel like I'm a lot better prepared," he said. " I was getting ready to go full time in my first go-round, maybe 12 or 15 stock-car races under my belt. I've worked with quite a few different crew chiefs over the past couple years and that allows me to better understand what's going through their heads.

"At the end of 2010, I don't know that it would have been beneficial for me to have a full-time Cup ride in 2011 because I really wasn't in a good spot, as far as confidence goes. I'd taken quite a few lumps. I always saw there was light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes you don't know if that's a train or not.

Bank of America 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

TV: 6ABC

Course: 1.5-mile oval

Distance: 334 laps/500 miles

Forecast: late-day thunderstorms, high 70s

Last year's winner: Brad Keselowski

Last year's pole: Jeff Gordon, 194.308 mph

Track qualifying record: Denny Hamlin, 195.624 mph (May 2013)

Track facts: Jimmie Johnson has the most wins at Charlotte (seven). Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon has five wins at the track. Johnson won this year's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Kevin Harvick was second; Matt Kenseth was third. In last fall's race at the track, Kasey Kahne was runner-up to Brad Keselowski; Kenseth was third . . . Following disappointing finishes at Kansas Sunday, Chasers such as Johnson (40th place), Keselowski (36th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (39th) want strong finishes at Charlotte Saturday night to avoid needing good races at Talladega the following week in the final Contenders Round event. The top eight drivers after Talladega will advance to the Eliminator Round.

Wins: Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, 5 each; Jeff Gordon, 4; Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3 each; Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, 2 each; Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, 1 each.

CHASE STANDINGS (Contenders Round)

1. Joey Logano 3,048

2. Kyle Busch 3,042

3. Carl Edwards 3,039

4. Ryan Newman 3,039

5. Denny Hamlin 3,037

6. Kevin Harvick 3,033

7. Matt Kenseth 3,031

8. Jeff Gordon 3,031

9. Kasey Kahne 3,023

10. Brad Keselowski 3,009

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3,006

12. Jimmie Johnson 3,004

Up next: Geico 500, Oct. 19, Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Ala., 2 p.m.; TV: ESPN; last year's winner: Jamie McMurray.