Starting first in his very first Xfinity Series race of the season is Hendrick Motorsports ace Kyle Larson. With the action heading to the coveted Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the fandom is all in for an epic showdown between the road racing maestros from Kaulig Racing against Cup Series regulars like Larson and Ty Gibbs.

During the qualifying, 34-year-old Shane van Gisbergen, who was one of the last drivers to head, put on a solid show, being the fastest across the 3.41-mile track until Kyle Larson blew his time out of the water with a clinical performance, clinching the pole. However, the 2021 Cup Series champion, speaking to FOX Sports, shared his thoughts, revealing that it’s not going to be a cakewalk for sure, saying, “It’s a handful for sure.” 

Kyle Larson calls it a “tough” one

Cup Series regular and HMS speedster Kyle Larson, in his part-time entry, dished out a solid average lap speed of 92.946 mph to win the pole, beating the Kiwi sensation Shane van Gisgergen to the punch, who got across the finish line with a lap speed of 92.650 mph, leaving him to share the front row with the 2021 Cup Series champion.

Despite clinching his first-ever Xfinity Series pole for 2024, Kyle Larson opened up about the challenges he faced at the 3.41-mile track. He said, “I know we went fast there, but I was expecting the Xfinity cars to have a little more grip, but… It was tough to get used to there in practice.” With just 20 minutes of practice, Larson really had to tune in his senses to grab the pole, and he felt like the race was going to be a hard nut to crack. 

Exclaiming the Xfinity struggles, he further added, “We went to that first round there in some of the areas where I struggled in practice. Yeah, that was good and then it’s still like just getting comfortable. I mean 20 minutes is not a long time, I mean, you only get… five, six laps in practice, and then you gotta go run hard in qualifying so, all of us here on this pit road are still learning quite a bit tomorrow. But thankfully for me, I get more laps in the cup car tomorrow, which will hopefully help some things out. really cool to get a poll here for HendrickCars.com, and we’ll see. We’ll see, it’s going to be tough. Like I said, there’s lots of slipping and sliding, and then… It’ll be just hard to keep your car going straight.” 

With a star-studded line-up for Saturday’s race, the scene is certainly going to be electric as Kaulig Racing teammates, SVG, and road racing specialist A.J. Allmendinger go head-to-head for the first time on one of the most complex tracks of the schedule. Put some Cup Series regulars in the picture, and you have a banger of a race.

SVG goes head-to-head against Allmendinger and looks to battle it out with the road racing expert

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There are multiple storylines for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in COTA, and one such plot is the one-on-one battle between the then 3-time Supercars champion and A.J. Allmendinger. The Kaulig Racing drivers will be up against each other in the race, with SVG placing himself on the front row while Allmendinger starts from the fifth spot.

With the first road race of the season coming up, SVG says he had quite a lot of conversation about the track and its technicalities. According to Motorsports.com, the Kiwi shared his conversation with Marcos Ambrose, a former NASCAR driver and fellow Supercar legend, saying, “I had a good chat with Marcos Ambrose last night, and he said the Xfinity car will be unlike anything I’ve ever driven, the way it brakes and the way the rear-end works.”

“He said it’s probably similar to the Cup cars he was racing, so hopefully those things help and helps me speed up the learning process.” He also mentioned his teammate, Allmendinger, who’ll be up against him on Saturday. He said, “We haven’t had too many races on-track, but everything I’ve asked him, he’s been open. He’s obviously at the top of his game and pretty impressive in those cars, and on the road courses here, as well,” added Shane van Gisbergen.

Probably, to tease the fans about an all-out war, he said, “I’ve learned a lot from him, watching him on the simulator. I look forward to battling him on track, too. Hopefully we push each other forward and try to beat everyone else before we beat ourselves.”

Kyle Larson Breaks Track Record and Beats Shane Van Gisbergen to Secure Pole at COTA

Stay tuned for more NASCAR in COTA Xfinity updates. Who do you think will cross the chequered, Kyle Larson or one of the road course masters?