Kyle Larson Hit With the ‘Talladega Jinx’ as NASCAR Denies Qualification Privilege

Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kyle Larson, won’t be participating in the qualifying rounds at the Talladega Superspeedway. According to the report by Bob Pockrass, NASCAR officials deemed the No. 5 illegal ahead of the qualifiers owing to the unapproved adjustment to the roof rails. This means that he will start tomorrow’s race on the tail-end of the field, thus virtually ending his chances of winning the event.

A similar intervention was flagged by NASCAR officials earlier this season. Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece from SHR were penalized for roof rail violation and were docked 35 drivers and owner points. NASCAR will review and brandish a penalty after the race weekend, but a point penalty can wash down all the good work the #5 team has done so far this season.

Here’s how the penalty could hamper Larson’s run this season

When it comes to the infringement of parts on the race car, NASCAR officials have been stern with their verdict. In Larson’s case, he wasn’t even allowed to get his Chevrolet Camaro on the track for the scheduled qualifying run. Without participating in the qualifiers, the HMS driver will also lose pit selection and will start from the rear of the field.

Larson will start 38th in the GEICO 500 race at Talladega and this will be his first-ever tail-end start since the 2018 Daytona 500. Moreover, this doesn’t help his cause of putting an end to his winless run at the 2.6-mile race track. Out of his 18 starts at the venue, a fourth-place finish is his best result, which came in 2022.

What could make matters worse will be an additional docking of driver and owner points. Larson was off to a flying start this season until this grim moment. His lead at the top of the driver’s standing is also under threat, given that his rivals will make the most of this opportunity and try to topple him.

The only positive that Kyle Larson can look forward to is that he can still conjure up a positive result from an unpredictable superspeedway race. Perhaps he can take inspiration from William Byron, who made it to victory lane at Martinsville despite starting 18th.