Kyle Larson: Karma, Luck or Inexperience?

Kyle Larson has had two Sprint Cup Series starts, both ending prematurely.

At Charlotte, his motor gave up, at Martinsville, his back end gave up the ghost.

It got this question in my mind... if these premature race endings come from karma, bad luck or inexperience in a Cup Series car?

Karma?:

My first exposure to Kyle was when we won three races in one weekend at one track.  All pretty much in what I call, "Carl Edwards fashion," wrecking someone to catch the checkers.  That was my first exposure to the kid.

Inexperience?:

I'm not saying he's inexperienced, in the realm of racing.  But these failures are also failures you see inexperienced drivers do.  If they're all pedal, and all go/no-go, sometimes that trashes engines and components.  And not quite knowing how to master the techniques of a Cup car, maybe that was a factor.

Luck?:

More than likely, it's just bad, bad luck for his two Cup starts. 

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He's got some great raw talent and we'll be seeing him in the Sprint Cup field behind the wheel of an EGR car in 2014.

Too bad.  I don't have the most faith in any EGR team, but who knows, right chemistry, timing, it could happen for both EGR and Kyle Larson.

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Is Haas the NASCAR Outlaw, or Will Someone Else Take That Mantle in 2014?

USA Today say the new outlaw of NASCAR is Gene Haas for the trick he pulled with hiring Kurt Busch.

The story goes as follows:

Ryan Newman is being let go from Stewart-Haas Racing because Kevin Harvick is coming into the mix and the team can not support four race teams at this time.

That was last July.

But now, Kurt Busch is going to drive for SHR in a fourth team.

WTF?

Gene Haas will be dropping his sponsorship dime on Kurt in the new team.  So it wasn't about money, but Ryan's end-performance under the SHR roof.

Many folks see this as a crap of a truth fail, as far as Ryan being told he can't stay because of money, when suddenly money is coming out of the woodwork for the biggest bad-mouth driver, Kurt Busch.

Hopefully, Kurt won't be spending too many weeks at home in 2014 for one of his verbal (or otherwise) escapades that got him fired from his cherry ride at Penske.

Tony Stewart already had his detractors and with this new development, it doesn't help.  But the real issue came from the other half of the team ownership duo.

Not to mention, I believe Haas pissed of Stewart in the process.  (More meds Tony... stay calm!)

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But wait... even though Haas is bucking for the new outlaw title, per USA Today, I think there might be another personality entering the 2014 Sprint Cup fray,and that's the rumored hiring of Kyle Larson by the EGR for the No. 42 car.

As you know, Juan Pablo Montoya is out of the EGR No. 42 when this season is up, and from how he tends to drive on-track, there's speculation he won't be finding a ride for 2014 in NASCAR.

Either way, it seems that from what I've seen of Larson, if he continues driving like I've seen, we'll have a new, talented driver that will give Kyle Busch a run for his attitude and penalty bucks!

[ USA Today ]

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Juan Montoya To Exit EGR (Does This Spell Doom for Patrick?)

If you had not heard the news from SiriusXM, Juan Pablo Montoya will not be renewing his contract with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, when this year comes to a close.

Per Felix Sabates.

I'm not surprised.  He's been marginally successful with two wins, and drives like a man possessed, no matter how many laps down he is.  Juan... this is not Formula 1!  But I think he's figured that out by now.

At the moment, Montoya is 22nd in points on the Sprint Cup driver roster, which by the way, is five spots ahead of Danica Patrick.

I've always compared Montoya's journey in NASCAR with Danica Patrick's present attempt to gel with the ranks of some of the best auto racing drivers in the world.

I've watched Montoya struggle, with a straggle win here and there, much like Patrick has done.

But I've also seen where he is outperforming her.  (Actually even her boyfriend is kicking her ass in the standings right now.)

Many folks have said she wasn't ready for Sprint Cup racing yet.  Hell, she barely broke the top-10 in the Nationwide series and consistently got trounced by any visiting Cup driver when they came to the series to race.

The ONLY thing she has going for her is that huge fan support and expectations of what she could possibly do.  Or maybe, more to the point, what they hope she will do.

But at 411 points out of first, (more than 100 behind Stenhouse Jr. and Montoya), if she didn't have the big green sponsor or fan hopes, I have to wonder just how long she'd last as a regular Joe driver?

Just sayin'!

But back on subject, I wonder, now that Ryan Newman and Montoya are free agents for 2014, who will land the better ride?  It will be weird to see Montoya in a car that's not red.  That's for sure.

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